


All The World's a Stage

by amelespotamos



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: M/M, and that's not even the right play, but it's totally platonic, my descriptions are always so vague, there's kind of some myungyeol, yet another high school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-06 22:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5432738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amelespotamos/pseuds/amelespotamos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hear my soul speak: the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service." -The Tempest</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act I

**Author's Note:**

> Even though I'm still writing this, I'll start posting it here. This is supposed to be a different take on the prompt I used for If I Fell. Instead of Dongwoo being a literal forest nymph, he's just playing one. Well, actually, he's playing a fairy (or maybe it's a sprite). So, all seven of them are in high school (I might have a thing for high school AUs) and Dongwoo, Woohyun, Sungyeol, and Myungsoo have parts in the school play while Sunggyu is the assistant director and Hoya and Sungjong are part of the stage crew. Even though the story pretty much revolves around the play, a lot of the plot has nothing to do with it. If that makes any sense.  
> This is mainly a 2woo story, but there will be bromantic myungyeol and subtle hogyu. And maybe someone for Sungjong.

**i.**  


Woohyun finishes tying his shoelace at the exact same time the door to the auditorium opens and smacks him right on the head. He stumbles back and falls onto his butt, clutching his aching head. He mentally curses Sungyeol for forcing him to audition for this stupid play in the first place. It's all his fault.  


"Oh my God," a guy's voice shouts. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there."  


Woohyun looks up while rubbing the bump quickly forming right in the center of his forehead. All pain and thoughts of Sungyeol's slow and painful death leave him when he sees the person standing above him. He marvels at the other's blond hair with just the right amount of waves. At his full lips and how the bottom one sticks out a little bit more. At how even with concern etched onto his face, this guy he's never seen before is absolutely the most gorgeous person he's ever laid eyes on.  


Woohyun fixes his bangs over the red spot on his forehead. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have been tying my shoe in front of the door."  


"But still," the guy insists. "I feel really bad. Are you sure you're okay?"  


Woohyun has to stop himself from swooning at the other's concern. If it wasn't enough that he's gorgeous, he's also so polite and caring. This must be love at first sight, he thinks.  


"It's fine." He assures. "I'm fine."  


The guy still looks apologetic, but he nods anyway. "Ah," he says as a thought occurs to him. Woohyun starts at the sudden sound. "Were you going in to audition?"  


Woohyun nods. The pain is slowly starting to come back. He fixes his hair again before saying, "I'm just hoping I don't embarrass myself."  


"If you mess up, I'll take the blame for it." The guy's smile alone is enough to convince Woohyun that he is perfect. And so far out of his league that he should just give up now.  


"I'll hold you to it."  


The smile is still on the blond boy's face as he reopens the auditorium door and gestures for Woohyun to enter. "Break a leg then, I guess. Sorry, I'm new to theater stuff. That's usually what you say, right?"  


"I have no idea," Woohyun says with a laugh. Theater is Sungyeol's thing. He and Hoya usually try not to get involved. (Although sometimes Hoya tries to get Sungyeol to introduce him to the girls in the drama club.) "Thanks, though. Hopefully we'll see each other at rehearsals."  


"Hopefully." After an exchange of awkward head nods, Woohyun goes into the auditorium and the guy heads off to wherever he was going before (literally) bumping into Woohyun.  


Woohyun is surprised at how well his audition goes. The director looks somewhat impressed at the end of it and Sungyeol even calls his acting believable. He's just glad he remembered all of his lines. But his celebration is cut short when he thinks of the guy from before and quickly realizes he never got his name.

  


 

**ii.** One Week Later  


Woohyun looks around at the students scattered throughout the auditorium until he finds his friend. Sungyeol is sulking in his seat with his arms folded across his chest. It's probably going to take a good deal of coaxing (in the form of junk food and video games) to get him out of this current funk. He hadn't taken losing the only part he wanted in the play very well. And the fact that he lost to a freshman he's never seen before makes it even worse.  


Woohyun sits in the seat next to Sungyeol, letting his book-bag drop to the floor next to him. "Are you gonna be all mopey for much longer?" Sungyeol pulls his arms tighter to himself in response. "You're no fun like this, you know?"  


"Do you think it's because he's a better actor than me," Sungyeol asks. "Or that he's just better looking?"  


"What if it's both?" Woohyun raises his hands in surrender at the glare Sungyeol sends him. "Or not."  


"If I can have everyone's attention, please." The sudden statement makes everyone turn to the stage where Mr. Park, the choral teacher, is standing. Next to him is a male student Woohyun's probably seen once or twice but never actually spoken to. Kim Sunggyu is a year ahead of Woohyun, Hoya, and Sungyeol and near the top of his class. Woohyun's only seen the other in passing, but he can't recall ever seeing him looking anything other than serious. It's a bit scary, honestly. Sunggyu stands stiffly in his too-neat-for-a-teenage-boy uniform looking out at the audience, but not at anyone in particular.  


"Let me start off by introducing myself for those of you who may not know who I am," The teacher starts. "I'm Mr. Park, the choral teacher and this year's play director. This young man next to me is Kim Sunggyu, the junior class president and my assistant director." Sunggyu gives a quick nod at the students in the audience as a greeting and adjusts his grip on the clipboard and stack of papers in his hands. Woohyun notices the tiniest of smiles that crosses his face before his usual solemn expression comes back. As he wonders what could have caused the brief show of emotion, he sees in his periphery a blond head waving distractingly at the stage. His eyes fly to the student, a cry of joy at the tip of his tongue before he swallows it and settles for gripping Sungyeol's shoulder.  


"Ow," his friend winces at the fingers digging into his skin. "What the hell?" He tries to pull Woohyun's hand off of him, but it's futile.  


Woohyun nods in the direction of the blond head he's now ninety-seven percent sure is the guy he met a week ago. "It's him. The guy I met at the auditions." He just manages to keep his voice at a whisper. Despite constantly thinking about the blond student, he had failed to consider that he would get to see the other again (and actually learn his name) if they both got parts in the play. A nauseating mixture of excitement and anxiety start to churn in his stomach. It's not a new feeling, but it has been a long time since he's felt it.  


"Are you sure?" Sungyeol cranes his neck to try to get a good look at the student's face even though he doesn't actually know what this new crush of Woohyun's looks like. A blond angel with a mega-watt smile is a little too vague for him.  


"Positive." Woohyun doesn't even care that he probably looks stupidly happy with the way he's smiling. Even when Sungyeol nudges him and whispers that his staring looks really creepy. He can't help himself; he didn't think he would get to see the other boy again. Now he just has to work up the courage to approach him later. That’s easier said than done.

  


 

**iii.**  


Woohyun takes a deep breath before approaching the student he’d met at the auditions. _Dongwoo_ , he reminds himself, _his name’s Dongwoo_. He’d learned Dongwoo’s name while surreptitiously eavesdropping on Sunggyu’s conversation with him. (Sungyeol had been too distracted to stop his questionable behavior.) Dongwoo is busy looking through the script and doesn't notice. He’s startled out of his daze when Woohyun clears his throat.  


"H-hi," Woohyun stutters. "Uh, Dongwoo, right?" He's kind of regretting coming over now that he's in front of the guy and has his full attention. Plus, he doesn't actually know what he wants to say. "We only met once, but I haven't stopped thinking about you since" sounds like a sure way to creep someone out. Even if it is fairly true. When Dongwoo stares questioningly at him, Woohyun rushes to jog his memory. "I'm Woohyun. We met last week. At the auditions. You accidentally hit me with the door." He rubs his forehead for emphasis.  


"Oh!" Dongwoo's voice is loud enough to surprise a few of the remaining students sitting close-by. "I'm really sorry about that. Are you okay?"  


Woohyun can't help but smile at the concern in his voice. "I'm totally fine. There was only a bump for a couple days."  


Dongwoo nods. "That's good, I guess."  


Woohyun nods in return and tries to think of something else to say to stretch the conversation a little longer. "Congratulations on getting a part in the play." He mentally kicks himself for using such a formal word like 'congratulations'. Who says that? "I'm sure you'll make a great Puck."  


Dongwoo nods again, this time with a happy smile. Woohyun tries his hardest not swoon at how perfect it makes his face look. "Thank you. I should say the same to you. You're playing Flute, right?"  


"Yeah." Woohyun wants to let out the most girly squeal because he actually noticed him. Well, not enough to immediately recognize him, but he was still paying attention.  


"Maybe we can go over our lines together sometime. If you want."  


The smile on Woohyun's face does a wonderful job of masking the inner meltdown he's currently having. "Yeah," he manages with some semblance of a normal tone. "That would be great."  


"Woohyun!" Sungyeol's call breaks the awkward silence that had quickly settled over the two boys. They both look over to see Sungyeol waving his freakishly long arms to get his friend's attention. Woohyun breathes an inward sigh of relief. He’d had no idea how to end the conversation.  


"Uh, that's my friend. I should probably go. See you around, I guess." He gives a small wave.  


"Bye," Dongwoo says with a wave of his own.  


Woohyun walks as calmly as he can over to Sungyeol considering his heart is pounding hard enough to knock against his ribs and he just wants to scream.  


"You wanna get something to eat? I'm coming up with a plan to get back at that stupid Kim Myungsoo." The evil glint in his eyes would be worrying if Woohyun was paying attention. "You know I do my best thinking on a full stomach." Sungyeol frowns at Woohyun's lack of response. "Are you even listening?"  


Woohyun puts a hand to one of his definitely red cheeks and turns to his friend. "Did you say something?"  


Sungyeol looks over at where Dongwoo is still sitting, back to flipping through the script. "Talking with that guy you're crushing on must have turned your brain to mush. Did you even ask him out?" Sungyeol's suffered through enough of Woohyun's lovesickness to know the answer, but he figures he should ask anyway. Woohyun likes to annoy Hoya and him with his pining before gathering the courage to make a move. Or so Sungyeol likes to think.  


"I don't even know for sure if he's gay." Woohyun lets his hand drop from his cheek. "And plus, this is only the second time I've talked to him. I should get to know him more."  


"Excuses, excuses." He picks up his book-bag and tosses Woohyun his. "C'mon, I'm starving and I'm trying to plot my revenge."  


"Revenge for what?"  


Sungyeol stares at Woohyun for three whole seconds before turning around and leaving the auditorium.


	2. Act II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally getting around to updating this over here.

**i.**   


Woohyun likes to think that most things don't get past him. He's usually very observant and he sometimes uses it to his advantage. So it's absolutely baffling that he never noticed that Dongwoo's locker is in this hallway. The very same one he walks through every morning to get to his own locker.  


How could he have missed that dyed blond hair amongst the crowd of brown and black? Or that blinding smile that makes his fingertips tingle and pulls the corners of his lips up into a smile of their own? Or even that emphatic laugh that fills the entire hallway? (He's not biased at all; these are just facts.)  


"Are you planning on moving any time today, Namu," Hoya snaps his fingers in front of Woohyun's eyes. "Or have you decided to take your nickname literally?"  


Woohyun reluctantly takes his eyes away from Dongwoo's smiling face. "Yes. I mean no." He clears his throat and takes Hoya's arm to steer him through the hallway (or rather away from Dongwoo, who thankfully hasn't noticed them). "Let's go."  


Unfortunately for Woohyun, Hoya is quick at catching onto things. He twists in his friend's grip to see the reason Woohyun had stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Is that him," he asks as he watches a blond-haired boy laugh, head thrown back and mouth gaping, at something the taller boy next to him said. Woohyun had described his newest crush as a gorgeous blond with a smile like an angel's and the manners to match. Hoya can admit the other boy is fairly attractive. His strong features and outgoing aura would be appealing if one was into that.  


Woohyun lets out a defeated sigh. "Yeah, that's him." Now there's no way he can get Hoya to continue walking without Woohyun having talked to Dongwoo first. He would have wished it was Sungyeol next to him instead, but he knows his other friend would do the same thing Hoya's about to do so he's screwed either way.  


"And you're just going to walk by without doing anything?"  


"Well... I thought about it." He mumbles. Ever since the first time they met, Dongwoo has taken up semi-permanent residence in Woohyun's head. There's nothing more he wants than to get to know Dongwoo more and then hopefully become friends (and then hopefully become more than friends). But admittedly, he's too much of a coward to do more than think about showing that he's interested. "What do you expect me to do anyway?"  


The last word is barely out of his mouth when Hoya turns back around and yells across the hallway. "Dongwoo!" Woohyun spins him back around and ducks down to hide behind Hoya's body. Not only do they now have Dongwoo's attention, but everyone else's as well.  


"What the hell was that?" Woohyun hisses. He chances a peek over Hoya's shoulder and quickly moves back when he sees that yes, Dongwoo is definitely looking at him.  


"I'm helping you out," Hoya answers calmly. Woohyun stares at him incredulously. _How in the hell was that helpful?_  


"How in the hell was that helpful?"  


Hoya pulls him to stand up straight and then places both hands on his shoulders. "Now you have his attention and you can go be awkward and attempt to flirt. He looks like he might like that sort of thing. And if he doesn't I'm sure he'll be really nice in letting you down."  


Woohyun would very much like to throttle his alleged "friend" at the moment, but he doesn't want to be expelled for assaulting a fellow student first thing in the morning. "I really hate you right now."  


Hoya smiles like that was a compliment. "Thank you. Now go already." He holds a fist up in a "you can do it" gesture before walking around Woohyun and continuing on to his locker located in the hallway around the corner.  


Of course he wouldn't stay to watch Woohyun make a fool of himself. Woohyun wonders if he can wait a couple minutes and then pretend he talked to Dongwoo, but he's always been a crap liar so that plan is pointless. Plus, Dongwoo is still looking his way.  


His legs feel stiff as he walks towards the other and he still isn't sure what he's going to say. Dongwoo has a confused look on his face when Woohyun stops in front of him that would be incredibly cute if Woohyun wasn't so damn nervous and trying to look at anything but Dongwoo's face.  


"Sorry about that," he starts. He rubs the back of his neck, but stops when he feels how sweaty his hand is. "That was my friend's idea of a joke. He's not really that funny, though."  


Dongwoo waves away the apology. "I don't mind. Woohyun, right?" Woohyun nods (hopefully not too enthusiastically). Dongwoo smiles widely and Woohyun can't help smiling back. The sound of someone subtly clearing their throat interrupts what Woohyun is hoping was them sharing a moment. They both turn to Sunggyu who is leaning against a locker and watching their exchange. (Although, Woohyun gets the feeling he's mostly just watching him. Which is very unnerving.) "Oh, Sunggyu, remember when I told you that I accidentally hit someone with a door a couple weeks ago?" Dongwoo doesn't even wait for his friend's answer, affirmative or not. "This is him. Sunggyu meet Woohyun. Woohyun meet my best friend Sunggyu."  


The two regard each other for a moment, Sunggyu with a knowing look and Woohyun apprehensively (mostly because of the other's narrowed eyes). Sunggyu is the first to extend his hand. Woohyun accepts it and shakes firmly like he's meeting Dongwoo's father rather than friend.  


"You're in the play, right?"  


Woohyun nods. "By some miracle, I'm sure."  


"You must have been pretty good if you made it into the cast," Dongwoo chuckles. He reaches out to squeeze Woohyun's shoulder reassuringly.  


As much as he wills himself not to blush, Woohyun can feel his cheeks getting hotter by the second. It wasn't even that big of a compliment. "I don't know about that..." He can feel Sunggyu's (probably judging) stare and he figures he should end the conversation now (especially since he hasn't yet embarrassed himself). "Uh, I should go. My friend's waiting for me."  


Dongwoo nods amicably. "Okay, I'll see you at rehearsal later then."  


"Bye." Woohyun's sure he has the stupidest grin on his face as he waves at Dongwoo. "Oh, you too, Sunggyu," he adds as an afterthought. The assistant director nods coolly in return.  


Woohyun manages to contain himself all the way down the hallway and around the corner before he stops to fan his burning face and giggle to himself. The questioning and sometimes weirded-out glances from passing students don't even faze him. He's much too caught up in the fact that he just talked to Dongwoo for the second time (well, technically the third time, but it's the second time they've properly talked rather than after he's possibly suffered a concussion) and Dongwoo remembered him and was happy to see him. The first thing Hoya tells him when he finally makes it to their adjacent lockers is that he's acting a lot like a love-struck teenage girl. He would have denied it if it wasn't so unfortunately true.

  


 

  


**ii.**   


Kim Sunggyu's face is not the first thing Woohyun expects to see when he closes his locker after stopping by to get his books for the rest of the day. And yet the assistant director's cold gaze is on him, not even flinching when the younger student nearly has a heart attack.  


"Oh, sweet Jesus," Woohyun exclaims while clutching his chest. He's much too young to go into cardiac arrest. Someone should tell his heart this with the way it's pounding in his chest. "It wouldn't hurt to announce yourself, you know? I think I just almost died."  


"Almost." Sunggyu's voice is even and his face is expressionless. Woohyun briefly wonders how someone can be so stiff all the time.  


"Uh, can I help you with something?" Surely if someone goes through the trouble of finding someone else's locker and showing up suddenly, they must want something.  


"We need to talk," Sunggyu starts. By his tone alone, Woohyun can tell he's not going to like what Sunggyu has to say. "Dongwoo's my friend and I think I'm doing both of you a favor by telling you this."  


"Okay...?"  


"Dongwoo's straight. So you should probably stop flirting with him." Sunggyu looks thoughtful for a second before adding, "Or what you think qualifies as flirting."  


Yep, Woohyun definitely doesn't like what Sunggyu had to say. Of course, it was a fifty-fifty shot that Dongwoo would be into guys, but it doesn't make the news any less disappointing. Honestly, he had been so caught up in his own infatuation that he hadn't really thought about Dongwoo's sexual orientation. Thankfully, the hallway is empty save for the two of them, so Woohyun can feel the sting of this round-about rejection in private.  


"Dongwoo's a good guy," Sunggyu continues. "It's hard not to like him. Impossible, actually. I wouldn't want you to take his friendliness as anything more than that and then later on think he was just leading you on or messing with you." Woohyun wants to say that it's fine and he understands where the other is coming from, but the words won't leave his mouth. They stick in his throat and form a lump he can't seem to swallow past. He had known Dongwoo was too perfect for him the first time they met. And now that fact is staring him right in the face. "He can be a bit...unaware, I guess, most of the time, so it’ll probably take him a while to realize you like him like that. But once he does, I'm sure he’ll hate to hurt you. So it might be best if you weren't so, you know, obvious."  


Woohyun clears his throat and clutches his books tighter to him. He's embarrassed and discouraged and he just wants to go find someplace to wallow in the unfairness that is his life. "Well, um, thanks for being a good friend and telling me. I'll see you at rehearsals, I guess." He turns to leave, but Sunggyu stops him with a hand on his shoulder.  


"It's not like I have anything against you. I'm not telling you to spite you. I'm just looking out for my friend. There's nothing wrong with you guys being friends, but..." That's all they'll ever be. He doesn't need to finish his sentence for Woohyun to know what he means to say.  


"It's okay," Woohyun says. It almost sounds convincing to his ears. "It's not the first time. I'll get over it."  


The warning bell for the next period rings and Woohyun uses that as an excuse to end the conversation. He mumbles out a goodbye before turning around again. Sunggyu doesn't say anything else as he walks away. But Woohyun can almost feel the other's pitying eyes on his back.

  


 

  


**iii.**   


Sungyeol drops his slice of pizza back onto his plate when Woohyun sighs for what must be the eighth time since the start of lunch. His friend had looked rather down during History, but Sungyeol had figured he would explain when he got the chance so he didn't bother asking. Now he wishes he had because all Woohyun's doing is pouting into his bowl of soup and occasionally sighing.  


"Sigh one more time and I swear I'll dump that whole bowl of soup on your head." Sungyeol threatens.  


Woohyun props his head on one of his hands and looks over at Hoya sitting across from him. "You have it so easy, you know that?"  


"What'd I do," Hoya asks through a mouthful of spaghetti and meatballs. Honestly, once he had sat down with his food the rest of the world didn't really matter. He's a simple guy with simple interests. (Sungyeol prefers to call it just simple-minded.) If Woohyun hadn't brought him into it he probably wouldn't have noticed anything was wrong.  


Woohyun lets out another sigh. Hoya quickly reaches across the table to hold Sungyeol's hands as they reach for the soup. Woohyun doesn't even notice. "The world revolves around you in a sense. It's always boy meets girl and of course they fall in love because there's no question as to whether they're straight. It's normal, right?" He pushes his lunch tray out of the way so he can lay his head on the table. "You don't have to wonder if she likes you because you're a boy and she's a girl and that's how it's supposed to be apparently."  


Hoya lets go of Sungyeol's wrists and sits back down. The latter had stopped struggling in Hoya's hold once it became clear what had made Woohyun upset.  


"He found out you had a crush on him?" Sungyeol lays a consoling hand on his friend's back. Between the three of them, Sungyeol usually tends to be the one wallowing in love-related misery. He’s convinced he’ll only ever know about one-sided love. So he can empathize with Woohyun at the moment.  


Woohyun tries to shake his head, but in his current position it doesn't work very well. "His friend told me not to get my hopes up," he replies instead. "Said he was doing us both a favor."  


"What an ass." Sungyeol has already decided to be on Woohyun's side no matter what. He hates seeing the other dejected and it helps if there's someone to blame.  


"He does have a point, though," Hoya chimes in.  


Sungyeol glares at him, but he only shrugs and resumes eating his pasta. "You're really not helping."  


"No, he's right." Woohyun sits up, making Sungyeol retract his hand in the process. "They're both right. It would have been worse to think there was something between us and then have him reject me."  


Sungyeol can see the sense in that. "Fine," he huffs. "What's so great about this guy anyway?" One look at the dreamy smile that settles on Woohyun's face tells Sungyeol all he needs to know. "Ugh, please don't say 'everything'."  


"He's really nice." He thinks about the concerned look in Dongwoo's eyes after he'd hit Woohyun with the auditorium door. And the way he smiles at him. Even if it's the same one he gives everyone else, it still makes Woohyun feel all warm and special.  


"Nice? That's it?"  


Woohyun rolls his eyes at his friend's unimpressed tone. "There's nothing wrong with being nice. Plus, I don't actually know that much about him yet. We literally just met and we've barely talked to each other."  


"So you're going to try to be friends with the guy you have a huge crush on," Sungyeol asks with a raised eyebrow, his tone bordering on reproachful.  


Woohyun already knows what he's going to say so he cuts him off before he can say it. "I know I tried that before and it didn't really work out very well for anybody."  


"That's an understatement," Sungyeol mutters, but it comes out loud enough for Woohyun to hear. Which is probably intentional.  


"Okay, so it was a disaster," he concedes with another eye-roll aimed at his friend. "But that doesn't mean this'll be the same thing." Sungyeol opens his mouth, most likely to say something else sarcastic, but Woohyun continues before he can. "And if it is, your welcome to say 'I told you so' all you want."  


"You make it sound like I wasn't going to anyway," Sungyeol scoffs as he returns his attention to his pizza.

  


 

  


**iv.**   


"Is this seat taken," a deep voice asks, interrupting Sungyeol's focused reading of his lines. More annoying than having his concentration broken is the fact that he can already tell who's standing over him without having to look up. Kim Myungsoo, the thief. Woohyun and Hoya don't think it was intentional, but Sungyeol is still angry and the easiest person to direct that anger towards is the freshman he lost to. The rational part of him knows Myungsoo isn't to blame for the outcome of the play's casting. He should grow up and embrace the role he was given—the whole "no small parts, only small actors" bit. And that had been Sungyeol's plan for all of five seconds until he put a face to the name of the student who got the part he wanted. Sungyeol can't say anything about his acting skills, but Myungsoo is undeniably good-looking. (Which is totally unfair because shouldn't he still be going through puberty and looking all weird and pimply like everyone else?) He knows that's not all there is to Myungsoo; that he probably didn't get the part on looks alone. But Sungyeol is petty when he's angry (and a little spiteful) and all he wants is to make someone else feel as bad as he does.  


Sungyeol lets out a vague grunt. Woohyun's disappeared somewhere, most likely avoiding Dongwoo, and Hoya's off probably painting trees or something so Sungyeol can't use either of them as an excuse. He tries instead to ignore Myungsoo's presence in the hopes that he'll eventually leave. Of course, he should have known better. For some strange reason Sungyeol has yet to be made aware of, Myungsoo seems to idolize him. He'd introduced himself briefly to Sungyeol during the first meeting for the play and Sungyeol had been flattered to hear that his performance—albeit for a very minor role—in the local theater's production of Cinderella had been well received. (His parents had complimented his acting as well, but they're his parents; they're supposed to be supportive.) Even though it had come from someone he's intent on disliking, Sungyeol had still felt his chest swell with pride. He appreciates a good review from someone he isn't related to by blood.  


What he doesn't appreciate is Myungsoo thinking one compliment makes them friends. He'll just have to make his disdain for that assumption and Myungsoo a lot more obvious.  


"I had asked my friend to help me with my lines," Myungsoo is saying, eyes trained on his lap as his nervous fingers fiddle with the edges of his script. "But since he's part of the stage crew he'll be just as busy as me for the next couple of months. I was wondering if you'd want to. Go over our lines together, I mean. We could help each other out, I guess, although you probably know more than me. This is actually my first play. I wasn't going to audition at first because I was afraid people would say I suck, but Sungjong—he's my friend. You know, the one I mentioned before. But, yeah, he pushed me to do it. Said it was worth a shot even if nothing came from it. I guess he was right." Myungsoo smiles shyly over at Sungyeol, looking at him from under his eyelashes.  


Sungyeol can only stare dumbly at the other student. Looking at Myungsoo, Sungyeol would never have expected so many words to come out of him. But looks can be deceiving. Especially on someone who seems to stare intensely at nearly everything and yet has trouble meeting Sungyeol's eyes when there's barely a foot of space between them. "Uh, I'll think about it," Sungyeol says slowly in answer to Myungsoo's seemingly forgotten question. He would say no outright, but he's always had a weakness for cats and Myungsoo bears an uncanny resemblance to one. Sungyeol's finding it hard to be mean when Myungsoo's lips curl up slightly at the corners and he's looking at Sungyeol with a mixture of awe and bashfulness.  


"Okay, that's, um, okay." Myungsoo fights back a smile as he goes back to playing with his script. He's practically brimming with happiness as if Sungyeol's just told him he'll be his mentor for the next three years.  


Sungyeol turns back to his script, even more determined to ignore Myungsoo. He's afraid that if he gives the younger boy any more attention he might end up liking him (or at least not disliking him). And that just won't do.

  


 

  


**v.**   


Woohyun is too busy transferring his books from his locker to his book-bag to notice the presence next to him.  


"Boo," a voice says close to his ear. For the second time that day, Woohyun's heart almost jumps out of his chest. He clutches at it as he turns to see who will surely be held responsible for his untimely death and to tell them exactly that. The words dry up in his mouth when he sees Dongwoo's mischievous grin. He quickly turns back to his locker even though he doesn't really need anything from it.  


All throughout rehearsal Woohyun had managed to keep his distance from Dongwoo, but his efforts to avoid him will be useless if he's just going to randomly pop up.  


"I'm sorry. This was a bad idea." With his back to Dongwoo, he can only hear the frown in his voice. Woohyun knows the smile is gone and his eyes are probably full of concern. He feels bad for acting cold, but he doesn't know what to say or what to do. His other one-sided crushes had been short-lived and not nearly as genuine. He can't explain it, but there's just this feeling he gets when he's around Dongwoo. Like, he wants to know all that he can about him and always be next to him and always make him happy. Being his friend doesn't seem like it'll be enough. "You looked upset during rehearsal. I was just trying to cheer you up. You must think I'm some weirdo who likes to go around scaring random people. I-I guess I shouldn't have—" His voice had been getting quieter, but it stops completely when Woohyun spins around. He takes a step back, both surprised and confused by the stricken look on the younger student's face.  


"You don't have to apologize," Woohyun insists. He really can't take Dongwoo thinking he did something wrong. It isn't his fault if life is sometimes unfair and Woohyun doesn't do a very good job of handling it.  


"Did something happen?"  


Woohyun doesn't understand why he suddenly wants to spill his heart out to Dongwoo as if he was a psychiatrist who could help him sort out his problems. Except, Dongwoo _is_ the problem. Or rather, the source. Instead, he presses his lips together (in case the words just jump out on their own) and zips up his bag before shouldering it and slamming his locker shut. The noise fills up the silence in the empty hallway.  


"It's nothing," he says finally. He wishes Sungyeol or Hoya would show up. They would be able to keep things from getting as awkward (maybe "serious" is a better adjective) as they already are. "I have to go." He starts to walk around Dongwoo, making sure to put an ample amount of distance between them, so he can get to the school's front entrance. But then Dongwoo's hand is on his arm, stopping him in his tracks.  


"Come with me." His grip is loose, as if he's not trying to restrain the other. Just let him know he's there.  


"Why?" He doesn't think he needs an answer (which is a bit scary; that he would follow him, destination unknown). Woohyun watches Dongwoo's eyes as he asks the question. They flicker like he's still thinking; still figuring out what he wants to do.  


"I don't know what's bothering you, but I want to take your mind off of it. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But it might be good to not think about it for a little bit." Woohyun is still watching Dongwoo's eyes. If he didn't remember Sunggyu's words so clearly ( _"Dongwoo is a really nice guy...I wouldn't want you to take his kindness as anything more than that and then later on think he was just leading you on or messing with you."_ ), he would think there's more than just concern in them. He would think he feels more for him than Woohyun is sure he actually does.  


"Okay," Woohyun breathes. Not that he had ever been thinking of saying anything else. "Where are we going?"  


Dongwoo's smile is more relieved than anything else. He slings an arm across Woohyun's shoulders and pulls him to start walking with him. "It's a surprise. But I will say it's where I go when I need to be cheered up."  


"You? Unhappy?" Woohyun has trouble recalling ever seeing Dongwoo unhappy or anything close to it. Confused, concentrated, even sleepy, but never upset.  


Dongwoo laughs, "It's possible."  


"What could possibly bother you?" It's weird. Five minutes haven't even passed, but Woohyun already feels better. Dongwoo's presence alone seems to have a mood lifting effect. That could be a problem later on when Woohyun's crush (inevitably) becomes so glaringly obvious and Dongwoo, being the nice guy that he is, decides that distancing himself will make things easier. But for now Woohyun is willing to accept whatever comes with being friends with Dongwoo. He just hopes he won’t regret it.


	3. Act III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part is italicized because it's a flashback.

**i.**  


Woohyun wakes up his usual groggy self. He stumbles to the bathroom with his eyes half-open and proceeds to get ready for school. He's showered and washed his hair and is in the middle of brushing his teeth when his brain finally starts running and he remembers what happened the day before. He stops brushing his teeth and just stares at his reflection. His damp hair sticks up in all directions and toothpaste foam is starting to run down his chin. He doesn't even notice, though, as a huge grin spreads across his face. It stays in place for the rest of his morning routine. As he pulls on his uniform (which he may or may not have spent extra time ironing); while he eats breakfast (which receives questioning looks from his family, but it's not like he’s paying them any attention); and on the bus to school.  


His good mood lasts all the way to the school's front doors where he's met by a calm (and possibly bored and/or sleepy) Hoya and a practically foaming at the mouth Sungyeol. He's not especially surprised. He did ditch them the day before to be with Dongwoo. Of course they would be on him first thing to spill everything.  


Sungyeol gives him a hard whack on his shoulder in lieu of a hello. "How could you bail on us and not even elaborate on what 'hanging with Dongwoo' means?"  


"I think you're being a little over-dramatic," Woohyun says while rubbing the sore spot on his arm.  


"And when is he not?" Hoya slings an arm around Woohyun's shoulders and they take a moment to commiserate together. It was a sad fact that after finding his calling in acting (according to him, at least) Sungyeol had become prone to theatrics. They'd both suffered through way too many meltdowns and tantrums over trivial things.  


Sungyeol falls into step on Woohyun's other side as the three of them head into the building. "Yeah yeah, I'm a drama queen. But that's not important right now. We should be talking about what happened yesterday with you and Dongwoo."  


"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but nothing happened so there's nothing to talk about." The sentence is barely out of Woohyun's mouth when Hoya's arm tightens around his neck. It's not tight enough to hinder his breathing, but he ends up hunched over while being dragged along as his friends continue the walk to their lockers. Sungyeol points an accusing finger in his face, his voice loud in the quiet hallway.  


"Do we look stupid to you?" Hoya's arm wraps just the slightest bit tighter around Woohyun's neck as Sungyeol quickly backtracks. "Don't answer that."  


"We all know you're a terrible liar," Hoya says, finally loosening his arm enough for Woohyun to stand up straight. "Just tell us what happened. It's not like it was a date or anything. Plus, you totally owe us."  


Woohyun rubs his neck, shooting Hoya a dirty look. He hates when his friends are right. He's saved from another attempt at believable lying by Sungyeol's hand on his shoulder. That is until he hears what the other has to say.  


"You don't have to tell us." Woohyun really doesn't like the devious look in his friend's eyes. That's never a good sign. "I'm sure Dongwoo will be more than happy to do it for you." To Woohyun's utter horror, Sungyeol turns away and stomps off. Towards Dongwoo.  


It takes him a moment to realize that they're standing in the same hallway in which Dongwoo's locker is located and that his friend is currently making his way to the upperclassman with the intention of embarrassing Woohyun in one way or another. And when his brain finally does catch up, he wastes no time running after Sungyeol (with Hoya right on his heels). He wonders how acceptable it would be to jump on his friend's back and tackle him to ground before he can reach Dongwoo.  


"So you're the one my best friend can't stop talking about." Woohyun would be internally cooing at the startled look on Dongwoo's face if the reason for it wasn't his friend towering over the other with what Sungyeol probably thinks is a pleasant smile. It only looks downright evil to Woohyun. Dongwoo gapes up at the younger student, speechless.  


"Hey, Dongwoo," Woohyun says with a wave to get the upperclassman's attention. He's relieved it comes out so casually despite the dread hanging heavy in his stomach and panic jumbling his thoughts. He pulls Sungyeol back a step in the hopes of making his friend seem less intimidating.  


Dongwoo's eyes shift over to his and after the second it takes for his brain to recognize Woohyun's face, a bright smile breaks out on his own. "Woohyun."  


The sound of his name coming from Dongwoo's lips replaces all other thoughts in Woohyun's head. It's genuinely warm and happy and gives him feelings friends shouldn't have about other friends. He doesn't realize he's been staring at Dongwoo for just a little too long (or that Dongwoo had been staring back) until Hoya gives him a small nudge. His words come out dazed as his mind starts working again.  


"...This is Sungyeol and, uh, Hoya. My friends."  


Dongwoo sends a friendly smile at the two of them before wrapping an arm around the waist of a student Woohyun hadn't even noticed. "This is Sunggyu," he says, pulling the assistant director closer despite the other's attempts to distance himself. "But I guess you already know who he is, don't you?"  


Woohyun doesn't think he's imagining the knowing look he gets from Sunggyu as his eyes pass over him and his friends. He can't help wondering what Dongwoo might have told him about the time they'd spent together the day before. But there's nothing to tell so he shouldn't feel like the other student is judging him. Maybe that's just his usual expression.  


"Oh, Howon. How'd your happy tree turn out?" Woohyun isn't sure which is weirder: the small smile that spreads across Sunggyu's face or the fact that it's being directed at Hoya of all people. Or maybe the weirdest thing is that he used Hoya’s real name. Hoya almost always introduces himself with his nickname. At least Woohyun's not alone in his confusion. Sungyeol and Dongwoo are both seem just as lost as they look between the two boys.  


"You guys know each other," Dongwoo asks.  


Sunggyu is slow to answer and Woohyun wonders if that's what he'd looked like a couple minutes ago, so focused on the object of his affections that it takes a second for his brain to process things. (Not that he's sure that's what's going on between Hoya and Sunggyu.) "We met yesterday during rehearsals." Sunggyu and Hoya share a smile that only confuses the other three boys more.  


For a moment Sungyeol looks torn between pursuing it further and continuing to grill Dongwoo on the time he'd spent with Woohyun before making a decision. "Speaking of yesterday," he starts with that predatory look returning to his eyes and lighting them up as he turns his attention back to Dongwoo. Hoya will have to wait. "Did you and Woohyun have fun hanging out together?"  


The startled look is back on Dongwoo's face. "O-oh, yeah, that," he glances at Woohyun as he fumbles for an answer. He's probably unsure of how much of his conversation with Woohyun he's allowed to share. "You guys probably had plans. I didn't mean to steal him from you. It's just—he was—um—"  


"You know what," Woohyun cuts him off. He's not worried about what Dongwoo might say about the day before—because, really, nothing happened. He just thinks Sungyeol has scared Dongwoo enough. "We should probably head to our lockers now." He doesn't miss the relief that washes over Dongwoo's face. And he's not offended by it either. He'd feel the same way too.  


"Okay, I'll see you around then." The sweet smile is back on Dongwoo’s face. "It was nice meeting you guys," he says to Hoya and Sungyeol, surprisingly genuine considering the last five minutes.  


Sungyeol pouts at the end to his fun. He’s not too put out, though, because now he can pester Woohyun for the full story. "You too," he replies. Or at least tries to. Woohyun has a hand wrapped around Sungyeol’s arm and is almost forcefully pulling him away. Hoya manages a small wave, his eyes lingering on Sunggyu for a moment before he turns around to join his friends.  


"You still have to show me how that tree turned out," Sunggyu calls out to Hoya. "In case you forgot."  


Hoya stops and turns his head (Woohyun and Sungyeol follow suit out of sheer curiosity). There’s a grin on his face from whatever joke he and Sunggyu seem to be sharing. "We’ll see," he promises vaguely.

  


 

  


**ii.**  


_"I want to be surprised that this is the kind of place you go to cheer yourself up," Woohyun says as he watches Dongwoo scratch behind a tiny black cat's ear. Dongwoo sits with his legs outstretched and the animal comfortably settled in his lap. Woohyun kneels awkwardly next to him. The cat closes its eyes and lets out a soft purr. "But somehow it's not working."  
_

_This is not at all the pick-me-up he had been expecting. His confusion as they stood outside of the pet shop had been shed shortly after entering the welcoming warmth of the store. He had watched the older student greet the staff and animals, all smiles and friendly words. It wasn't hard to tell he was a frequent visitor. Despite having only met Dongwoo three weeks earlier and having a total of three short conversations, Woohyun feels this is definitely the kind of place the other would retreat to. Maybe it's his bright smile with a hint of playfulness or his seemingly (and most likely) kind personality, but Woohyun can't imagine Dongwoo relieving his stress in more aggressive ways. Surrounded by adorable, nearly harmless little creatures sounds more probable.  
_

_Dongwoo picks up the cat, who opens its eyes at the loss of fingernails lightly moving through its fur, and cradles it to his chest. It closes its eyes again as it sinks into the warmth of the boy's arms. He starts petting its head in slow even strokes. He looks down at the animal as if it's the most precious thing in the world. Woohyun feels his heart clench at the sight.  
_

_"I guess I just like being around animals. They're simple, you know? You feed them, pet them, play with them, and just love them. They don't ask for anything else. As long as you're there for them, they'll always be there for you. People aren't usually like that. When I feel like things aren't going how I want them to I like to come here and just be around the puppies and kittens. They're so... I don't know, free, I guess. It's a nice distraction. All of my stress seems to melt away by the time I leave."  
_

_He looks over at Woohyun, a small smile on his face. The caring look he had given the cat is still on his face.  
_

_Woohyun spends a moment just staring back at him. It's really unbelievable how much more perfect Dongwoo seems to become every time he talks to him. The most attractive thing about him is his genuinely kind nature. His good looks and sweet smile are just added bonuses.  
_

_"Uh, is this working for you? I know everyone deals with stress differently, so maybe this isn't your kind of thing. You can tell me what you think; I won't be offended."  
_

_Woohyun manages an amused smile at Dongwoo’s eager tone. He looks away from him and lets his eyes fall on the sleeping cat. "I don't know," he answers honestly. He sits fully on the floor and pulls his knees to his chest to rest his chin on them. "I guess," he heaves a big sigh as he tries to find the right words. "I guess I'm sort of in the middle. Like, I know I shouldn't be mad about...um, the situation." He just manages to stop himself from saying more than he intended to. "Because it is what it is and there's not really anything I can do about it. And I'm not mad, not really. But I don't want to settle for..." Woohyun pauses, finishing the sentence in his head instead._ I don't want to settle for just being friends with you.  


_He could have only imagined it, but the first time they met he had felt like there was something between them. It's presumptuous of him to think that they were both on the same page. But he actually believes in love at first sight and all of those other cliché ideas about love. He could see the two of them getting to know each other slowly by just talking and then he'd probably build up the courage to stumblingly ask Dongwoo out, or maybe Dongwoo would be the straightforward type who would just ask because it seems right, and then they'd share their first kiss at someone's front door after a date that didn't really feel like a date because it was a lot like the times they would talk endlessly and there weren't any furtive glances or hesitant hand-holding and the kiss is perfect and then, naturally, they start dating and hopefully it lasts longer than most high school romances. That's how he imagines their relationship unfolding, but it's not reality. Because reality sucks.  
_

_"Maybe I'm just being selfish," he wonders out loud.  
_

_"It's okay to be selfish sometimes. You don't always have to think about how everyone else will feel. That's way too much stress for one person." Dongwoo reaches out with the arm not holding the cat and rests a hand on Woohyun’s shoulder.  
_

_"Thank you for this," Woohyun begins. If Dongwoo hadn't found him earlier he would have most likely spent the time sulking in his room. "I feel a lot better now."  
_

_"Just glad I could help."  
_

_Woohyun heaves himself off the floor and smooths out the wrinkles in his uniform. "I hope you don't mind if I go now. My mom will kill me if I'm late for dinner."  
_

_Dongwoo gently places the still sleeping cat back in its cage and shuts door before rushing to his feet. "Let me walk you back."  
_

_"You don't have to. I actually live pretty close by."  
_

_The older boy picks up both of their book-bags, that they had tossed aside shortly after entering the store, and holds Woohyun's out to him. "I want to. And I'm not taking 'no' for answer."  
_

_Woohyun accepts the bag. "You know, following me home would just make you look like a stalker."  
_

_"Which is why you're letting me walk you home, right?" Dongwoo's face is alight with a winning smile. Woohyun doesn't bother trying to move away when the other slings an arm across his shoulders and steers them towards the front door. He can't, actually. Not with how Dongwoo's smiling at him. (The slight quirking of one of his eyebrows might have also played a part.)  
_

_That means he's really screwed if they're going to be friends. Dongwoo gives him all of these warm, fuzzy, puppy love kind of feelings. How is he supposed to act like they aren't there? Like every time he sees Dongwoo he doesn't have the urge to kiss him senseless and tell him how beautiful he is and what a wonderful person he is? But it's too late to change his mind. He can't just suddenly decide that he doesn't want to be friends anymore. He could tell Dongwoo how he really feels and maybe Dongwoo will be uncomfortable with it and he'll be the one to give up on their friendship. But Woohyun doesn't think he can handle that kind of outcome. At the very least he should be half-honest with Dongwoo, although it's not like he won't find out eventually. The trick is how he should broach the subject. Should he blurt it out or beat around the bush? Would it be better to see how Dongwoo feels about gayness in general before bringing up his own gayness? All of these thoughts swirl around Woohyun's head as he and Dongwoo walk in near silence. It's not until they're a block from his house that Woohyun gathers enough courage to say something.  
_

_"I'm gay."  
_

_That's not how he had wanted to bring it up, but the words are out now. He keeps his eyes on the ground in front of him and clenches his hands in his pants' pockets. He can feel the thin layer of nervous sweat on them. Dongwoo is still silent beside him, like he has been since their attempt at small talk ended not too long after they left the pet store. He's curious to see Dongwoo’s expression, but nervous at the same time. It's not that he thinks Dongwoo will shun him; it's just that he always gets uneasy when he chooses to come out to someone. Even when he's sure that the reaction will be positive (like it had been with Sungyeol and Hoya), he can't help the nagging fear that he won't be accepted.  
_

_"I just wanted to let you know," he fills in the silence between them. "Because we're friends now, I think, and it’s not like it’s something I’m trying to hide." He clamps his mouth shut to keep from nervously rambling on.  
_

_"We are friends," Dongwoo assures him. And when Woohyun turns his head to finally look at Dongwoo he sees him looking back with a smile and positive energy practically seeping from his pores. "This is actually a first for me. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to say. Thank you for telling me?"  
_

_Woohyun laughs in relief, his hands unclenching from the tight fists in his pockets. "So you're okay with it?"  
_

_"Of course." He wraps an arm around Woohyun's shoulders, the move as natural as if they've been friends for longer than the last ten minutes. "You’re still the same person I accidentally hit with a door.”  
_

_"That's a good thing, right," Woohyun asks with a laugh. That's not the first impression he would've hoped to have with anyone. Dongwoo only laughs along with him as they walk up the path to Woohyun's house._

  


 

  


**iii.**  


"So why do you and our assistant director have an inside joke?" After spending half of lunch determining that there really isn't anything going on between Woohyun and Dongwoo, Sungyeol has moved on to dissecting the mystery of Hoya and Sunggyu.  


"Who?" Hoya looks up from his bowl of noodles, either genuinely clueless or faking it.  


"Sunggyu," Woohyun supplies. He’s both grateful that the attention isn’t on him anymore and just as curious as Sungyeol about Hoya’s new friend.  


To Sungyeol's disappointment, there's no reaction from Hoya at the mention of Sunggyu. Hoya only shrugs. "What about him?"  


"You two seem pretty close." Sungyeol watches Hoya closely, anticipating a slip-up. "He knows your real name. And you didn't even get mad when he used it."  


One corner of Hoya's mouth pulls up just the slightest bit. "It's nothing," he dismisses. "A lot of people know and use my real name." He goes back to his food as if that's the end of the conversation.  


"Yeah, like your parents. It's obviously something."  


"To you," Woohyun joins in again. "Why are you so interested in our love lives anyway?"  


"Well, mine is non-existent." Sungyeol sighs dramatically and looks off into the distance like the memory of his last relationship is replaying in his mind. "So you guys are the next best thing. It's incredibly sad, but please don't ruin this for me."  


Hoya snorts and starts to say something (probably a comment on the sorry state of Sungyeol's life) when he's interrupted by someone clearing their throat. All three heads turn to look up at the newcomer to their table. Myungsoo stands over them with regret practically tattooed on his forehead now that all of the attention is on him.  


"I don't mean to interrupt," he starts quietly. His eyes lock onto Sungyeol as if he's the anchor keeping him from fleeing to someplace with fewer eyes and ears. (And Sungyeol supposes that's true in a sense considering he's the reason Myungsoo had come over in the first place.) "I was just wondering if you're done thinking about working together—not that there's, like, a rush or anything. You can take as long as you need. I'm sure you're busy and you probably already have all the help you need. You don't need me. I mean, what do I know? Just forget I even asked. It was stupid to even—"  


"Myungsoo." Sungyeol cuts him off a little more sharply than he means to. But he doesn't stop to apologize. "Breathe," he instructs the younger boy instead. He seems like he needs it.  


Surprisingly enough, Myungsoo does just that. He takes a long deep breath as his fists slowly unclench where they'd been balled up at his sides. "Thanks," he says, sounding a lot calmer than before.  


"Wait." Hoya's sudden statement fills in the short silence that had settled over the table. He looks from Myungsoo to Sungyeol as he asks, " _He's_ Myungsoo?" The sarcastic thought in Sungyeol's head dries up before he can voice it when he hears his friend's next words. "When did you guys become friends? I thought you hated him."  


Sungyeol doesn't have to look at Myungsoo to know how hurt he must be. "I never said I hated him," he refutes, aiming a sharp kick at Hoya's shin under the table. Hoya winces in pain, but doesn't seem half as sorry as he should be.  


"I think I should go now," Myungsoo says barely above a whisper. He doesn't wait for the other three boys to say anything—probably doesn't even expect them to—before he turns away.  


Sungyeol isn't sure if he should feel relieved that Myungsoo didn't sound close to tears. Technically, it's not his fault; he didn't actually say he hated Myungsoo. But he's not exactly going to chase Myungsoo down to explain himself either. In a way, this is kind of a good thing. He'd been trying to find a way to shake off the younger boy and if this is it then he should take advantage of it. His conscience has other thoughts, though. A heavy weight sits in his stomach for the rest of the day, curbing his appetite and distracting him when he should be paying attention. Feeling guilty sucks.


	4. Act IV

**i.**   


Unfortunately for Sungyeol, he doesn't get the chance to apologize to Myungsoo before the end of the school day. And since it's a Friday, his guilt gets two full days to grow and fester like mold. It really puts a damper on his plans of doing absolutely nothing (at least until Sunday night when he rushes to finish the homework he'd intended to get out of the way on Friday). All he can think of throughout the entire weekend is Myungsoo's face as he'd walked away.  


By the time Monday rolls around, Sungyeol's feelings about Myungsoo have stopped making any sense to him. He doesn't hate him—he never hated him; he'd been jealous and angry at how the auditions turned out, but he'd never felt any animosity towards Myungsoo directly. And yet, he doesn't really like Myungsoo either. He's too much of a lot of things and Sungyeol doesn't have the patience to try to get to know him better. But he does feel bad about hurting Myungsoo's feelings. He goes to school with the plan to find Myungsoo and apologize. Eventually. There are a lot of hours in the day; it doesn't have to be the very first thing he does. So maybe he shouldn't be as surprised as he is to be sought out by Myungsoo's friend as he's leaving homeroom. Myungsoo stands off to the side, studying his shoes.  


"I think you owe someone an apology." Myungsoo's friend—Sungyeol assumes he's the Sungjong Myungsoo had mentioned—has an eyebrow arched expectantly. He somehow manages to look down his nose at Sungyeol despite being a couple inches shorter.  


Sungyeol is willing to admit he's a little intimidated by Sungjong. But only to himself. He can't let someone younger than him know they have that kind of advantage over him. He has a reputation to uphold. "I know," he agrees with a scoff. He pretends he doesn't hear the muttered insult from Sungjong as he approaches Myungsoo. It feels incredibly awkward to have to do this in a busy hallway; even if no one's actually paying attention to them. Sungyeol clears his throat and stuffs his hands into his pants pockets. "Look, Myungsoo," he starts slowly. Myungsoo finally looks up at him then. Although Sungyeol's relieved that he doesn't seem angry or sad, he can't quite figure out what emotion is on Myungsoo's face. "I'm sorry about Friday. And what my friend said. I don't hate you—I've never hated you."  


It's not until Myungsoo's eyes soften slightly around the edges that Sungyeol realizes his expression had been guarded. Myungsoo doesn't want him to see how much those words (Hoya's words) had affected him. He studies Sungyeol's face for a moment before giving a simple, "Okay."  


"Whoa, wait a second." Sungyeol catches Myungsoo's arm when he starts to walk away. "I give you a heartfelt apology and all I get is a little 'okay'?" He does a terrible imitation of Myungsoo's deep voice, but he's not too concerned about that at the moment.  


"I guess you could call that heartfelt." The smallest of smiles makes its way onto Myungsoo's face. "If you had the heart of an ant."  


Sungyeol thinks he hears a snort behind him from Sungjong, but he's too busy gaping at Myungsoo to think too much about it. Clearly Myungsoo doesn't have any hard feelings if he's already cracking (bad) jokes. That's a good thing, right? "Why don't we work on our lines together, then? If you still want to."  


Just as suddenly as it had appeared, Myungsoo's smile drops and his expression turns dark, his eyebrows knitting together. "Because you feel sorry for me," he asks as he finally shakes off Sungyeol’s hand. The anger that Sungyeol couldn't see before seems to be bubbling up to the surface.  


The warning bell rings signaling the start of class. Sungyeol is two floors lower than he should be at the moment, but Chemistry will have to wait. "I don't feel sorry for you. I mean, I do feel bad," he admits, "but that's not why I asked." His guilt is partly why he's offering to work with Myungsoo. He wants to make it up to him. But since he doesn't entirely dislike him, Sungyeol also doesn't see any harm in being acquaintances. ("Friends" seems like a reach at the moment.) "You obviously respect me—or, I guess you used to, so I was thinking I should probably do something to earn it."  


"When did I say I respected you?"  


"It was inferred. Are you saying you don't respect me?"  


Sungyeol hates to admit it, but the sheepish half-shrug Myungsoo gives him in response is like a swift kick in the stomach. (Maybe Sungyeol had liked knowing someone looked up to him; that someone thought he was cool or interesting or whatever. It was a nice ego boost.) "Will you feel better if I say yes," Myungsoo asks. Sungyeol can only scoff incredulously. "I think you're a really good actor. And you seem pretty cool, you know, most of the time."  


Sungyeol knows he deserves that. It's probably what he gets for assuming things and being a bit of a jerk. "Look, why don't we call it even?" He still isn't too concerned about being late to class, but he also wants this conversation to be over. "Let's say we both misjudged each other and leave it at that, okay?" Sungyeol figures he should be happy that neither Myungsoo nor Sungjong move to stop him when he turns to walk away. He feels almost as bad as he’d felt after seeing the audition results. Which is stupid because it’s not like he cares what Myungsoo thinks about him. (That’s a blatant lie, but Sungyeol won’t admit it even to himself.) _It’s for the best_ , he thinks as he heads up to his Chemistry class. They probably wouldn’t have made very good friends anyway.

  


 

  


**ii.**   


"Are you sure he's not even a little bit into you?"  


Woohyun hides his snort behind his hand as he looks over at Kibum. They're supposed to be conjugating English verbs, but instead the two of them have spent the last ten minutes discussing Woohyun's poor excuse for a love life. Kibum is now fully up to speed with every detail of Woohyun and Dongwoo's relationship (friendship? Something like that). "I'm one hundred percent sure," Woohyun says.  


"Because he told you or because his friend thinks he isn't?" Kibum is nothing if not relentless in his questioning. Woohyun is kind of starting to regret telling him anything. "If you ask me, there's definitely something there. No one goes through that much trouble to cheer up someone they hardly know."  


"I don't think I did ask you, though."  


Woohyun's words are ignored as Kibum continues talking. "Maybe he doesn't even know he likes you. That kind of stuff happens all the time." Only his friend's total confidence in his own words keeps Woohyun from brushing him off. Kibum isn't always right, but Woohyun knows from experience that the odds are usually in his favor. So if Kibum believes Dongwoo has feelings for Woohyun (ones even Dongwoo might not be aware of), then Woohyun is willing to be just a little bit more optimistic about their friendship.  


"Well, he did invite me to eat lunch with him today." Woohyun bites his lip as he thinks about the way Dongwoo had beamed at him when he'd accepted the invitation. His hand tingles with the phantom feeling of holding Dongwoo's hand. (It had been brief and hadn't meant anything beyond an effusive greeting from Dongwoo, but it's enough to make Woohyun's heart thump at the mere thought.) "It's not like it's an exclusive thing or anything," he clarifies. He shouldn't fan the metaphorical flames of hope. It'll just make it that much more disappointing to be wrong. "Sungyeol and Hoya'll be there. And his friend and probably some other people, too."  


"But it's a start," Kibum insists. "Who knows, he might only focus on you the whole time."  


Woohyun rolls his eyes. He doesn't hesitate to shoot down that ridiculous scenario. "You know, just because you saw it in a drama doesn't mean it happens in real life."

  


 

  


**iii.**   


"Sunggyu."  


"Howon."  


_"Hoya."_   


_"Howon."_   


Hoya almost reaches out to punch Sunggyu's arm before he remembers they don't know each other well enough for that. Instead he matches the assistant director's playful grin. "Only my parents call me Howon."  


Sunggyu shrugs, not particularly fazed by the comment. "I would hope they do, since they named you that and everything. What's wrong with Howon? It's a nice name. It suits you."  


The air feels too warm suddenly and Hoya can only wonder why when the stage lights aren't even on. He looks away from Sunggyu for the first time. When he passes a hand over one of his ears he finds it burning hot. "Well, it was either that or Hodong," he says, hoping Sunggyu doesn't read too much into his reaction to the compliment. "I bet I would've been such a funny-looking kid with that name."  


"And you're not funny-looking now?"  


There's a pause as Hoya stares at Sunggyu in speechless disbelief. Again he has the fleeting thought to playfully punch the other, but he refrains in case Sunggyu thinks he's actually upset by the joke. He clears his throat and decides to change the subject. "Don't you have work to do? You know, assisting and or directing?"  


"I could ask you the same thing," Sunggyu teases him right back. "These sets aren't going to make themselves."  


Hoya only smiles wider. (Not because he doesn't have a comeback or anything.) "I guess I should get back to that then."  


Sunggyu nods, but takes another moment before turning to leave. "See you around, Howon," he throws over his shoulder. His laugh, although quiet, still reaches Hoya's ears when he corrects Sunggyu for what feels like the hundredth time since they've met. For some reason Sunggyu refuses to use Hoya's nickname. Which is confusing for Hoya because he hadn't told Sunggyu his real name when they met and yet the other had already known it.  


Hoya watches Sunggyu walk away with a shake of his head. When he turns to get back to arranging the cardboard trees for the forest scenes, he finds Sungjong staring at him, unimpressed. Hoya raises an eyebrow in question at the underclassman with whom he's become fast friends. (He thinks it might be because they understand each other's sarcasm.)  


"Am I still supposed to believe there's nothing at all going on between you two," Sungjong asks. Much like Sungyeol and Woohyun, he also has it in his head that Hoya and Sunggyu have a "thing".  


Hoya shrugs, less intimidated by Sungjong's judging eyes than he had been the first time he'd been subjected to it. "Well, there's nothing going on between us, so... Yes?"  


Sungjong doesn't look very convinced. "If you say so," he answers.  


Hoya frowns at his friend, finding the response overly cryptic. He doesn't think he acts any differently with Sunggyu than with any of his other friends. Everyone is just making it more complicated than it actually is. Sungjong gives Hoya an oddly sympathetic pat on his back as he's pulled away by a couple of students from the costume department. That leaves Hoya amid a cardboard forest mulling over all of his interactions with Sunggyu. Of all people he would be the first to know if he and Sunggyu had a so-called "thing", wouldn't he?

  


 

  


**iv.**   


Sungyeol walks into rehearsal in a foul mood. He's still bothered from his conversation with Myungsoo as well as upset that he's actually upset about it. He hates to let other people's opinions of him get under his skin, but it seems it can't be helped. He's spent most of the day brooding (according to Hoya, at least) and now he just has to get through rehearsals so he can go home and over-think some more.  


He's just sat down in the front row of the auditorium when someone settles into the seat next to him. With Woohyun preoccupied with Dongwoo, Sungyeol knows it can only be one other person. Myungsoo must want to apologize, ironically enough. Sungyeol supposes he should accept it.  


"Hey, can I talk to you?"  


Sungyeol continues rummaging through his book-bag for his script, contemplating if he should reply sarcastically. Even though he doesn't want to show that he's still upset, he thinks he's justified in being a little passive-aggressive. "There's no need to apologize if that's why you're here," he says after letting a long silence stretch between them. "It's not like you hurt my feelings."  


If Myungsoo doesn't believe him, it doesn't show—or rather, Sungyeol can't hear it seeing as he hasn't looked at him yet. Myungsoo sighs heavily and shifts in his seat. "Obviously we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot. And maybe assumed some things about each other along the way." Sungyeol turns his head to finally look at Myungsoo. He knows what he'd assumed about Myungsoo, but to hear that it had gone both ways is news. He opens his mouth to ask, but Myungsoo keeps talking. "So I think it would be best if we just start over." He clears his throat as he extends his hand out to Sungyeol. "Hi, I'm Myungsoo," he says with a small smile, "Nice to meet you."  


Sungyeol stares at the other's hand for a moment. As much as he'd wanted to dislike Myungsoo, he's finding that it's much harder than it seems. He's still not sure if he likes him, but Sungyeol knows he won't be able to hate him. He supposes he'll have to get to know Myungsoo better to figure out why that is. "I'm Sungyeol," he responds and clasps Myungsoo's hand. If Myungsoo wants to start fresh, they can start fresh.  


Myungsoo's smile widens as he shakes Sungyeol's hand. It makes him look younger; like a child who's just been complimented. "Are you doing anything after this," he asks when he finally lets go of Sungyeol's hand. He turns his whole body in his seat to face Sungyeol.  


"I'll probably do my homework and then take a nap." Sungyeol thinks for a second before shaking his head and saying, "Actually, forget homework. I'll just go straight to sleep."  


"It's only Monday," Myungsoo laughs. (Sungyeol doesn't know why he notices the way Myungsoo's face scrunches up as he laughs. Or why he finds it kind of endearing.)  


"All the more reason."  


That cracks Myungsoo up even more and Sungyeol is willing to admit that it feels nice to be the cause of the other's amusement. Myungsoo's smile doesn't dim although he doesn't quite meet Sungyeol's eyes when he asks, "If you don't mind missing some sleep would you want to maybe hang out instead? With me, of course."  


If Woohyun or Hoya had told Sungyeol a week ago that he and Myungsoo would be on their way to becoming friends, he would have told either of them to shove it. But here he is: sitting with Myungsoo, who's waiting patiently (and hopefully), and actually considering hanging out with him outside of school. "I don't usually cancel plans to sleep for anything other than food," he starts. Which is true. Sleep and food take precedence over everything else in Sungyeol's life. (His mother probably has a few things to say about that.) "But I guess I can make an exception this time. I'm sure it'll be more interesting to hang out with you." And oddly enough, he really means it.


	5. Act V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five chapters later and it finally gets interesting. So this chapter is really (unnecessarily) long because there's a lot happening. There are a bunch of feelings and awkwardness and stuff. But there's no myungyeol because they're friends now and their relationship isn't all that complicated. This is all about 2woo and hogyu. And it's safe to say I'm not being very subtle about the hogyu anymore.

**i.**   


Dongwoo turns at the sound of his name, a smile already stretched across his face. He waits for Woohyun to catch up to him before latching onto his arm. They're just outside the school gates, where some students are milling about until they absolutely have to go into the building.  


"Why didn't you wear a hat or a scarf," Woohyun asks. There's a fond smile on his face despite the slight reprimand in his voice. "I could hear your teeth chattering from a block away."  


Dongwoo rests his head on Woohyun's shoulder and tightens his hold on the other's arm. "I was running late," he defends himself. He forgot to set his alarm the night before and had only woken up after one of his sisters jumped on him to tell him he'd be late. The last thing on his mind as he rushed out of the house was being warm. "But it's okay," he tilts his head up to look at Woohyun, "you'll keep me warm now."  


Woohyun lets out a laugh, bringing his free hand up to rub at one of his cheeks. "Who taught you to say such cheesy stuff?"  


As they start walking again Dongwoo picks his head up but keeps himself pressed close to Woohyun. Normally Dongwoo isn't this clingy with any of his friends. (Well, that's kind of a lie. He touches Sunggyu's butt a bit more often than he'd care to admit.) But lately he's been fighting a losing battle with himself to maintain a friendly boundary with Woohyun. It doesn't help that he's a naturally affectionate person. And the fact that he feels an ever-increasing need to be as close to Woohyun as he can be without making things weird just makes the task even more complicated. He's trying to convince himself that he's doing it for Woohyun's sake. Because he doesn't want to make his new friend uncomfortable by coming on too strong. But really he knows it's because he's never felt this way before about a friend (about a _male_ friend). And it's confusing and a little scary. He thinks he just wants to be friends with Woohyun; he's mostly sure. But sometimes... Sometimes he's not so sure. Like when he sees Woohyun for the first time in the morning and he smiles at Dongwoo as he greets him and Dongwoo feels like he's just run a mile with the way his heart speeds up in his chest and he loses his breath. Or those random times when Woohyun pops into his head, be it his face or his laugh or something he'd said. It's safe to say that Dongwoo now thinks of Woohyun on a regular basis. He's just not sure if that's a good or bad thing yet.  


Woohyun stops walking when they reach the steps leading up to the school entrance and Dongwoo follows suit. "Dongwoo," he starts carefully. He gently pries Dongwoo's arms off his own and puts a bit of space between them. "There's something I wanted to ask you."  


Dongwoo feels like his heart sinks to the bottom of his stomach and rises up to his throat at the same time. He doesn't know what the question will be and he doesn't know if he's dreading or anticipating finding out. So he stays silent and gives Woohyun a nod to show he's listening.  


"Well, um, I was thinking, you know, since there's no rehearsal today, maybe you'd want to come over to my house and hang out and go over our lines if you want?"  


"Yes." The question is barely out of Woohyun's mouth before Dongwoo gives his answer. It comes out in a relieved rush that he's immediately embarrassed by. It's way too late to play it cool, but that doesn't mean Dongwoo won't try. "I mean, yeah, sure. I'd like that."  


Woohyun brightens at Dongwoo's words, the worry in his eyes melting away. He slings an arm across Dongwoo's shoulders and ushers him up the stairs. "It's a date," he says without thinking. They both stumble on the last step as the words sink in. Woohyun looks over at Dongwoo in a panic. (Dongwoo doesn't know what his own face looks like, but he doubts it's at all reassuring.) "Not a date," Woohyun clarifies. He pulls away from Dongwoo who barely stops himself from reaching out to bring him close again. "It's just..."  


Dongwoo would help him finish the sentence if he knew how he wanted it to end. Date probably isn't the right word, but he'd be a little disappointed to call it hanging out. Maybe he would be able to figure it out if he talked about it with Woohyun. But what is he even supposed to say? _Hey, this is kinda new for me, but I think I might like you and it's freaking me out a little bit, is it just me?_ Dongwoo knows that just because Woohyun's gay it doesn't mean he's automatically attracted to him. He'd wanted to be friends with Woohyun well before the younger boy came out to him and that desire hadn't changed in the least afterwards. But as he's started to question himself and his feelings, Dongwoo's also wondered if he's alone in his confusion. He has no way of knowing how Woohyun feels and he's too afraid to ask. Especially with the possibility that it really is just him.

  


 

  


**ii.**   


"Are you going to say whatever it is you _obviously_ want to say or just keep looking at me?" After being friends with Dongwoo for so many years now, Sunggyu has developed a higher level of patience. But there is only so much he can take of seeing his friend shift nervously in his seat, turn to Sunggyu and open his mouth as if he's going to say something only to close it and turn away shaking his head.  


Dongwoo slumps in his seat. "It's nothing."  


"It doesn't look like nothing." Sunggyu puts down his pencil and sets aside the Math homework he had been reviewing. He looks at Dongwoo, now drumming his fingers on the desk. It's a nervous habit. Never one to push, he waits for the other to find the words he wants to use.  


"Okay," Dongwoo sighs. He leans across the aisle and Sunggyu takes that as his cue to move closer. His voice is quiet, but it doesn't seem all that necessary since no one is paying attention to them. "How do you know if you like someone?"  


"And you're asking because you don't know?" Under the seriousness of his tone, Sunggyu can sense a minuscule amount of worry. Dongwoo doesn't respond immediately, which Sunggyu takes to mean he's considering just saying what's wrong. (Because he wouldn't be so reluctant if it was good news.) "Do you think you like someone?"  


Dongwoo looks away from him. "I don't know...maybe."  


Sunggyu thinks back to Dongwoo and Woohyun's awkward conversation earlier that morning. He only caught the end of it, but Dongwoo had definitely been blushing after Woohyun left. Tack on the fact that they’ve been nearly inseparable for the past month or so and Sunggyu is more than halfway sure who Dongwoo might like. He also knows why the other is uneasy with the idea.  


Dongwoo has had crushes before; he even has dating experience. But that only involved girls. This—possibly liking Woohyun in a romantic, more-than-just-friends kind of way—is new and so totally unexpected. For both of them. The only reason Sunggyu had warned Woohyun about Dongwoo was because his friend isn't into guys and Woohyun, obviously, is (or at least is into one specific guy). It kind throws a wrench into things to realize that maybe he had misjudged a couple of things. Come to think about it, Dongwoo has been a bit different since meeting Woohyun. For one thing, he's much more interested in the play than he had been when Sunggyu had first suggested he audition for it. His already sunny disposition gets even brighter around the younger guy. And Woohyun seems to be his favorite topic of conversation. Sunggyu thinks about it some more and concludes that Dongwoo isn't different, but actually similar to how he usually is when he falls for a girl.  


It's only mildly surprising. Sunggyu doesn't see anything wrong with his friend possibly being gay (or bisexual, since attraction to another boy doesn't automatically negate any past or future attraction to girls). After being friends with him for so long and seeing what an absolutely wonderful person he is, the only thing that matters is that Dongwoo is happy. And Woohyun clearly makes him happy. Sunggyu has witnessed that fact firsthand. He can only hope neither of them screws it up. But first Dongwoo has to straighten out his confused feelings and be okay with what's left.  


"You can always come to me if you need any help figuring things out." They’ve never discussed this kind of thing before, but he still wants the other to know he can talk to him about it.  


Dongwoo turns cautious eyes to him. "Thanks," he breathes more than says. "Maybe I will."  


Sunggyu notices that the tension in his best friend's shoulders loosens just a bit. He finds himself relaxing as well to see that the other is less burdened than he had been before, even if it's only a small amount. He really hates seeing Dongwoo worried.  


The bell signaling the end of homeroom cuts their conversation short, but Sunggyu gets the feeling he wasn't going to get anything else from Dongwoo anyway. Not that he minds. He has enough patience to wait for when his friend is ready to tell him everything.

  


 

  


**iii.**   


It's not until Sunggyu is standing right next to Howon that the younger student notices him. Startled, Howon nearly trips over his own feet as he steps off of the treadmill. Sunggyu fights back a laugh and waits for Howon to take his headphones off before saying anything. "So this is Leg Day."  


Howon's face is all red from exertion (and maybe a little from embarrassment), his breath coming out in short pants. He’s changed into baggy shorts and a thin tank top that’s stuck to his skin with sweat. He reaches over to stop the treadmill. "What are you doing here?"  


"Woohyun told me you'd be here," Sunggyu answers easily. He's pretty sure Woohyun had been too preoccupied to wonder why Sunggyu would want to know Howon's whereabouts. Which works for him because he wouldn't have been able to give an answer. And he hopes Howon doesn't question him either because he still doesn't have an answer. "Honestly, I wouldn't have expected to find you here."  


"Why? I don't look like I work out?"  


Sunggyu follows Howon to the line of stationary bikes set up next to the treadmills. While Howon immediately starts pedaling after he's seated, Sunggyu opts for sitting sideways to face him. "No, you look..." Sunggyu pauses before finishing his sentence. He had been about to say that Howon looks good, but he doesn't want the other boy to get the wrong idea. (It's not entirely untrue, though. Sunggyu does think Howon looks good—as a strictly neutral observation, of course.) "So, uh, do you spend a lot of time here?"  


There's a knowing look in Howon's eyes when he glances at Sunggyu, but he spares him the embarrassment. "I guess, although not as much as I used to." He's pedaling slowly like he's really riding a bike with his back bowed and forearms draped over the handlebars.  


"And you probably play sports, too." Sunggyu scrunches his nose a bit at the thought. Physical activity isn't exactly his cup of tea.  


Howon's laugh is soft and short. "You say that like it's a bad thing." His pedaling slows to a stop and he straightens his back. When he turns a bit to look at Sunggyu there's a small smile on his face. "I usually play basketball in the fall and soccer in the spring, but I hurt my ankle during the last soccer season so basketball's out for this year."  


Sunggyu nods in understanding before a realization hits him. "Wait, if you're injured shouldn't you not be doing all this exercise. Especially _Leg Day_?"  


"I _was_ injured. I'm a lot better now. And if I want to play soccer next year it's better if I don't get lazy now."  


Sunggyu hesitates on showing his concern. Would it be weird? They don't know each other that well. Are they even friends? Sure, they've talked a lot over the past few weeks even though it was mostly lighthearted teasing. But Sunggyu isn't sure if they can be considered close. Thankfully, he's saved from his predicament when Howon continues talking.  


"What do you for fun?"  


"Hold on," Sunggyu says, faking his incredulity. "Are you saying this is fun for you? You _like_ getting sweaty and tired?"  


"It has its perks," Howon laughs. There's a moment of silence where Sunggyu thinks the same thought pops into both of their heads. At least, if he's judging by how red Howon's ears turn. They look away at the same time and Howon hops off of the bike. He crosses the room, stretching and swinging his arms in what Sunggyu assumes must be warm-up stretches, and plops down onto one of the gym mats laid down on the floor. "You never answered the question," he informs Sunggyu as he stretches his legs out in front of him and reaches out to touch his toes.  


Sunggyu takes his time joining Howon on the floor. He sits across from the other with his legs folded and leans back on his hands. "I don't know if I should tell you," he says slowly. "Then you'll want me to show you, too."  


Howon sits up straight. "That just makes me more curious."  


"Alright, fine," Sunggyu sighs, giving in without a fight. "I wouldn't say that I do it for fun, but I'm good at it so there's that. I can sing...sort of."  


"Sort of?"  


"Well, I don't do it in public or anything. Just, like, in the shower or when my mom asks me to."  


"And now you're gonna show me your sort-of singing, right?"  


Sunggyu rolls his eyes despite the nervous flutter in his stomach from the excitement in Howon's voice. He doesn't know if Howon is anticipating him being good or bad, but he's still flustered from the attention. "I'll sing if you turn around first. I feel like I'll mess up if you're watching me." Surprisingly, Howon actually listens. He pulls his legs up and twists until his back is facing Sunggyu. The nervous feeling in Sunggyu's stomach grows. "There's this one song I've been practicing lately. I guess I could sing that." He clears his throat a couple times before finally starting. His voice is quiet at first, his tongue tripping over a few of the words. Howon doesn't laugh or even turn around and that somehow gives Sunggyu the confidence to sing louder. By the time he reaches the chorus his eyes have fallen shut. There's a small smile pulling at his lips as he sings,

_When she walks, she’s like a samba_  
_That swings so cool and sways so gently_  
_That when she passes, each one she passes goes, “Aaah…”_

Sunggyu's eyes stay closed for a bit after he's finished. He'd gotten a bit into the song and mostly forgotten where he was and who he was with. Howon doesn't waste any time reminding him.  


"Why did you make me turn around if you were just going to close your eyes?"  


At the sound of Howon's voice, Sunggyu's eyes fly open. The other had turned around at some point while Sunggyu was singing and now he's sitting right in front of Sunggyu (and a lot closer than before). Close enough that Sunggyu could reach out and touch him. (He doesn't.)  


"You're actually pretty good," Howon says when Sunggyu doesn't say anything. He looks down at the floor, awkward in his sincerity. Most likely because he rarely gives Sunggyu sincere compliments. His ears have gone bright red again.  


"Thanks." Sunggyu's voice is soft. Even though Howon isn't even looking at him he still feels self-conscious. Which is kind of ridiculous; he never gets nervous around Howon. It's usually the opposite. Sunggyu feels relaxed around Howon, more comfortable than he is with most people—excluding Dongwoo, of course. "I think I should go now," he mumbles. He's probably over-stayed his welcome. "I don't want to get in your way." As he starts to get up Howon grabs onto his arm to pull him back down and what follows might as well have been lifted from a drama script. Sunggyu's on one knee when Howon pulls on his arm which throws him off balance and sends him crashing ungraciously onto the other. Howon lets out an oomph as Sunggyu lands on top of him. They end up face-to-face, their chests pressed together (Sunggyu tries to ignore the way Howon's chest heaves under his; the way their hearts are pounding in tandem). Their eyes are wide with surprise and locked on each other.  


A long moment of silence stretches between them. They’re both waiting for the other to speak or just react. Sunggyu would if he knew how. He’d never expected to be in a situation like this, especially not with Howon. But he knows they can’t stay like this. He sets both hands on the floor on either side of Howon’s head to push himself up. It’s only when he puts a couple inches of space between them that Howon takes a hold of the lapels of Sunggyu’s uniform jacket and pulls him back down. Howon stares up at him wordlessly, although his eyes seem to speak volumes. They drop down to Sunggyu’s lips and stay there long enough that Sunggyu starts expecting him to close the distance between their mouths.  


Sunggyu’s heart shows no signs of slowing down. He can hear the blood rushing in his ears; feel it thrumming in his veins. And he lays frozen on top of Howon. It should be his move now. Howon’s made it obvious what he wants (or just hopes for) and now it’s Sunggyu’s turn to respond. He can either lean down and find out the answer to a question he hadn’t known he’d wanted the answer to until now, or he can get up and leave and have to face the awkwardness of seeing Howon again knowing they almost kissed. It seems like an easy decision, but it still takes Sunggyu another moment to get his body to listen to him.  


Howon’s lips are soft. That’s the first thought that flits through Sunggyu’s head when he finally connects their mouths. It’s followed by a lot of other pleasant thoughts and observations about kissing Howon. And the one he likes the most is the thought that he could get used to it.

  


 

  


**iv.**   


"Are you sure you're not actually an eight-year-old?" Woohyun asks Dongwoo's limp form. The latter had made a beeline for Woohyun's bed as soon as he set foot in the room. Woohyun stands at the foot of the bed, watching as the older boy wiggles around and buries his face in the pillow. (Woohyun has never been more thankful that he doesn't drool.) As if he wasn't screwed already, the sight only makes him like the other more.  


"You sound like Sunggyu," Dongwoo laughs. He sits up and inches on his knees to the edge of the bed in front of Woohyun. "Come be eight years old with me," he holds out his hands for Woohyun to take.  


Woohyun looks up from the outstretched hands to the other's ever-smiling face. It's really unfair. All Dongwoo has to do is look at him and Woohyun is already anticipating what he might say, however ridiculous. Woohyun is almost completely certain that the older boy is oblivious to the hold he has on him, but sometimes he wonders. At those times, it seems like Dongwoo leans much closer than necessary or pouts just a bit more or his eyes get even more puppy-dog-like. At those times, Woohyun wishes he wasn't so incredibly infatuated with Dongwoo. It would make resisting him (and not falling even more in like—or is it love?—with him) a hell of a lot easier.  


"Woohyun?" Dongwoo's voice snaps him back to reality and he soon realizes he's been staring at the other boy while thinking. He blinks a couple of times before silently grabbing Dongwoo's waiting hands. Dongwoo's furrowed brows smooth out and a pleased smile spreads across his face. The look is not unlike that of a placated child.  


"So what now," Woohyun asks, kneeling across from a similarly posed Dongwoo. A nervous feeling settles into his stomach. He tries not to think too much about the fact that he's _on his bed_ with Dongwoo. In fact, he's _alone in his house_ on his bed with Dongwoo. If he thinks too much he might do something stupid and possibly ruin their burgeoning friendship.  


"Didn't you ever jump on your bed as a kid?"  


"Of course," Woohyun shrugs. "But that was when I was small enough that it felt like jumping on a trampoline. I'll probably break my bed if I jump on it now."  


"That sounds like something Sunggyu would say." Dongwoo slumps dejectedly on the bed. Woohyun would feel bad for ruining the other's good mood if he wasn't too busy internally squealing at how cute he looks. "Actually, he might have said that exact same thing once," he adds in a mumble.  


Woohyun wonders if he should apologize, but that concern is put to rest as Dongwoo bounds off of the bed to the other side of the room. He stops in front of the large autographed poster of David Beckham taped to the wall. Sungyeol (through his father) had gotten it for him a few birthdays ago. He always brings it up whenever he wants Woohyun to do something for him. That argument had only worked the first couple of times, but that doesn't stop him from using it.  


Woohyun hadn't thought Dongwoo had noticed any other part of his room besides the apparently soft and bouncy bed. "You like soccer?" His fingers trace the signature in the bottom corner.  


"Yeah," Woohyun nods. "I've been playing since I was in middle school."  


Dongwoo's mouth forms a perfect "O". "Wow. You must be really good, then."  


Woohyun feels a blush spreading across his cheeks as he waves away the other's words. He really needs to stop getting so flustered by such simple compliments. "I'm okay," he admits modestly. "A lot of the other guys are way better."  


"If you say so." He moves away from the poster and starts looking over Woohyun's not-neat-but-not-totally-messy desk. It's somehow the only part of his room that he never manages to get clean. It's a wonder he can find anything under all of the random papers and books and food wrappers. "Can I come watch you play sometime?"  


Woohyun tamps down the immediate "no" on the tip of his tongue. If Dongwoo's watching him he'll either try too hard to impress him or be way too nervous to do anything. But he can't very well tell him that, can he? "Um, the season doesn't start until the spring."  


Dongwoo picks up a framed picture from the desk. His eyes roam across it as he responds. "Is that a yes?" Woohyun doesn't know if the soft smile on the other's face is from the teasing tone of the question or looking at the picture. (He really hopes it's the former because that picture was taken a couple years before, in his opinion, he totally kicked puberty's ass. His cheeks were all chubby and he doesn't even want to think about his hair.)  


"We start practicing in early spring so it's still pretty cold out."  


Dongwoo looks away from the picture to give him a smile. "I'll dress warmly."  


Woohyun wonders if this counts as flirting, but quickly dismisses the thought. They're friends; friends don't flirt.  


"You and your brother look so much alike." Already Dongwoo's onto another topic. "But you probably hear that a lot." Still holding the frame, he plops down on the swivel chair in front of the desk and takes it for a couple spins.  


Woohyun lays down on the bed, resting his head on his hands on the pillow and crossing his ankles. "Not as much as you'd think, actually." He raises an eyebrow at Dongwoo. "People usually say I'm so much better looking than him."  


Dongwoo snorts, but doesn't say anything. He looks down at the picture in his hand, his fingers slowly tracing the swirled pattern on the frame. Woohyun wants to ask him what's so interesting about such an old (and unattractive) photo, but decides against voicing the question. Instead he uses the brief lull in conversation to take in this relaxed version of Dongwoo. His hair is slightly tousled from rolling around on the bed and Woohyun feels like both combing it smooth with his fingers and messing it up even more. There's a fondness in his eyes that Woohyun has noticed directed at him quite often. It makes him anxious and ridiculously happy and he can't help but feel hopeful despite their established platonic friendship.  


"What about you," Woohyun asks, breaking the silence. "Do you have any siblings?"  


"I have two sisters," Dongwoo nods. He sets the picture frame back on the desk. "They're both older than me and I really hope they don't look too much like me."  


"It would be nice to have an older sister," Woohyun muses mostly to himself. "Or just a sister actually. Then I wouldn't have had to put up with being tortured for all those years."  


Dongwoo scoffs as he leans back in the chair. "You're so lucky you only grew up with an older brother. Sisters are evil. Especially when they're older than you."  


Woohyun sits up on his elbows, intrigued. "How is having a sister worse? My brother was always teasing me and stealing my stuff, especially my food. And then he'd act like we were best friends whenever our parents were around. If that's not evil, I don't know what is."  


"That's nothing compared to what my sisters did to me. I probably shouldn't tell you this, actually."  


Woohyun sits up fully, now even more curious. "I hope you know that by saying that I'm not giving up until you tell me."  


"God, it's so embarrassing," Dongwoo laughs. "Can we just forget I mentioned it?"  


Woohyun is practically bouncing on the bed. He has no idea what the other could be so embarrassed about, but now he has to know. "There's no way I'm letting this go. Just tell me. I promise I'll try not to make fun of you."  


Dongwoo sighs dramatically before giving in. "They used to play dress up with me. They'd put me in our mom's clothes and smear her make-up on my face and call me their cute little sister. It was very traumatizing."  


Woohyun snorts, but quickly covers his mouth to stop himself from outright laughing. He can see how embarrassing such an experience could be. He also can't help but find it immensely cute. "I would pay money to see that."  


"There's no way I'm showing you those pictures," Dongwoo says while shaking his head. He stops when he realizes what he just said. "Crap. I shouldn't have said that."  


The devastated look on Dongwoo's face only makes Woohyun laugh harder. He collapses on the bed clutching his stomach. "You're so showing me those pictures," he manages breathlessly.  


"Why do you want to see such embarrassing pictures anyway?"  


Woohyun quickly sobers up as he watches Dongwoo rise from the desk chair and make his way over to him. He can feel the nervousness well back up in his stomach. Seeing Dongwoo standing over him, the light from the sun setting outside the bedroom window hitting him just right, Woohyun vacillates between anticipating and dreading Dongwoo's next move. He's had way too many daydreams with situations like this that ended a little too well...and maybe he should stop this train of thought before things get awkward.  


"It's because they're embarrassing that I want to see them," he says with some semblance of a normal tone. "Plus, you got to see that terrible picture of me." He gestures in the vicinity of his desk, the offending picture on top of it. "So then we'll be even."  


Dongwoo sits on the bed facing away from him, effectively obscuring his face and the expression on it as he says, "I like that picture of you. It's really cute, especially your cheeks."  


_He thinks I'm cute_ , Woohyun thinks in a daze. _He thinks my cheeks are cute_. Even with all of the sincerity and affection in his voice, Woohyun wishes he could have seen Dongwoo's face as he said those words.  


"Can I ask you something?" Again Dongwoo is onto something else, his blush-inducing words forgotten. He stretches himself out on the bed next to Woohyun, propping his head on one hand as he makes himself comfortable on his stomach.  


Woohyun has to remind himself to breathe with Dongwoo so close. He still hasn't gotten entirely comfortable with Dongwoo's casual disregard for personal space. He wriggles slightly on his back, telling his body to relax. "I'm an open book." he's happy his tone comes out light, but his mind is still in a panic.  


Dongwoo lets out a short laugh before his face turns serious. "I was wondering...when did you know you were gay? You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable," he backpedals when he sees the surprised look on Woohyun's face.  


"I don't mind," Woohyun insists. He looks up at the ceiling as he recalls the first time he had realized he wasn't straight. "It was during middle school. Most of my guy friends would be talking about which girls they thought were cute and which ones might like them. And they were always comparing actresses and singers and stuff. Like, who was hotter or looked better a certain way. But I never saw what was so interesting about that. Mostly because I found guys to be more interesting to look at and compare." He glances at Dongwoo to check that the other isn't uncomfortable, even though he's the one who brought up the subject. All of the older boy's attention is focused on him. The intense look in his eyes sends a shiver up Woohyun's spine. It would be a lie to say he isn't the slightest bit flattered by the way Dongwoo's eyes seem to take in his whole body even though they're clearly fixed on his face.  


"It was a bit lonely," he admits. "I felt like the only one who didn't fit in. It was probably because I kept it to myself and tried to be like everyone else. I used to think if I pretended long enough it would become true. Wow," Woohyun covers his face with both hands. His voice is slightly muffled as he speaks. "When did this turn into a shrink session?"  


"Does this mean you've never talked to anyone about it before?" Woohyun notes the surprise in Dongwoo's voice as well as the whole two inches by which he's moved closer. (It's hard to miss since his bed isn't made for two.)  


Woohyun pulls his hands from his face and turns onto his side, propping his head in one hand. "You can say that. When I first came out to my family and friends, they asked a lot of questions, but I've never really talked about how I felt, you know, being in the closet and stuff."  


"I must be special then." Dongwoo smiles and Woohyun can feel himself melting into a puddle. He would tell the other just how special he was to him if he weren't so afraid of how Dongwoo would react. "Can I ask you something else?"  


"Ask away." His attempt at nonchalance sounds a lot more convincing to his ears the second time around.  


Dongwoo only hesitates for a second before asking, "Did you ever like girls—or, I guess, think you liked girls?"  


"The only time I can remember liking a girl was when I was, like, five. And most of my reason for liking her was because she would always share her ice cream with me. But I guess at that age I was more concerned with eating than being in a relationship with anyone." They both laugh and Woohyun revels in the way Dongwoo's eyes curve into crescents and how his laugh is loud and happy and infectious and just him.  


"Were there any guys you liked then?" Dongwoo maintains eye contact and doesn't seem flustered, but Woohyun refuses to believe it's because he's anticipating the answer. Why would he be that interested in the answer?  


Woohyun fights a losing battle with the blush reddening his cheeks when the question brings to mind the first boy he had liked. The boy's face is as clear as Dongwoo's right next to him. Woohyun had just come to accept that he wasn't like his friends when he noticed there was a new student at school. Much like with Dongwoo, his first crush had given him butterflies and thoughts of him had filled his head. After months of secretly pining, Woohyun had decided to come out to Hoya and Sungyeol, his two closest friends, and was subsequently forced to admit his crush. Not too long after that, Woohyun had found that he didn't feel as nervous talking to the guy. And he didn't think about him as much or want to spend time with him for no reason. He had been surprised his first serious crush had come and gone and he hadn't experienced any of the clichéd drama that inspires sad movies and depressing songs.  


"There were a few," Woohyun answers shortly. "And, no, I'm not telling you who," he cuts in as Dongwoo opens his mouth.  


"I wasn't going to ask that." But he looks away, abashed. Woohyun laughs to himself and makes sure to squeal internally at how cute the other looks when he's embarrassed.  


"So what were you going to ask then?"  


Dongwoo takes a longer pause before answering. "Can I—" He cuts himself off with a shake of his head. For the first time since the start of their talk a blush blooms on Dongwoo's cheeks.  


Before Woohyun can even think of a teasing question, Dongwoo is leaning closer and their lips are pressing together. It's not exactly how he'd hoped their first kiss would be: a bit rushed and already over by the time Woohyun's brain has registered that they're actually kissing. But the fact that Dongwoo's lips are touching his makes up for it.  


Dongwoo is also the one to break the kiss. He leans away, presumably to catch his breath and gauge Woohyun's reaction. But Woohyun doesn't let him get very far before he's pulling the older boy closer with a hand on his neck and reconnecting their lips. He doesn't hesitate to capture Dongwoo's full lower lip in between both of his like he's been imagining doing. The hand on his hip must mean he's doing the right thing. That this was the reaction the other had been hoping for. The thought makes Woohyun press closer to Dongwoo, their chests touching, and he reaches his hand up to tangle in the blond hair that's even softer than he had guessed. At that, Dongwoo makes a small sound in the back of his throat. Woohyun can feel it all the way in his toes and it sends a shiver down his spine.  


Although Woohyun could spend the rest of the night just kissing Dongwoo, breathing through his nose doesn't provide nearly enough oxygen. There's also the fact that they should talk about why they kissed and what it means for their friendship. So with one last nip to Dongwoo's lower lip, Woohyun puts some space between the two of them.  


Dongwoo still has his eyes closed when Woohyun opens his own. He takes a moment to appreciate the peaceful look on the older boy's face. It's almost as if he were asleep. (But really Woohyun thinks he must be the one dreaming because he never thought he would get to kiss Dongwoo or that _Dongwoo_ would initiate the kiss.)  


"Dongwoo," he calls softly as he cups the other's face and caresses his cheek with his thumb. The sound rouses Dongwoo from his apparent daze and he slowly opens his eyes. Woohyun isn't sure what he sees in Dongwoo's eyes as he stares back at him. He offers the older boy a small smile to start. "So does this mean what I think it does?"  


He's expecting something affirmative, like a yes. Not for Dongwoo's eyes to go wide with realization. (Of their current position, the implications of Woohyun's words, or how he really feels; Woohyun doesn't know which.) So he's left to look on in confusion as Dongwoo practically jumps out of the bed.  


"Oh my God," the older boy whispers to himself. His eyes roam Woohyun's room as he stands in the center of it with a hand frozen in front of his lips.  


Woohyun slips off the mattress to approach him. It's almost like getting near a wild animal; moving slowly so as not to frighten it. "Dongwoo," his voice is soft and affectionate. He has a good idea of why Dongwoo suddenly seems so freaked out. He places a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder, an "it's okay" already forming in his mouth. Only he doesn't get the chance to say it as Dongwoo roughly pushes his hand away and steps out of reach.  


"Don't."  


The word is like a punch in the face with the cold way it snaps out of Dongwoo’s mouth. It's the first time Woohyun's ever heard him sound like that. He hadn't thought Dongwoo was capable of such biting hostility or that it would ever be directed at him. Woohyun should do something, say something, but his only reaction is stunned silence.  


"I should go." This time Dongwoo sounds more like his usual self. The regret and hesitance are welcome surprises, but Woohyun is still stuck on the turn of events (them talking and then kissing and then Dongwoo pushing him away) to take full notice. So he watches, unspeaking, as the other turns and walks out of the room. The sounds of footsteps descending the staircase and then the quiet closing of the front door carries throughout the silent house.


	6. Act VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's not as exciting as the last, but I like how it turned out. Dongwoo gets the chance to explain himself (not to Woohyun, of course) and Sungyeol and Myungsoo are back. Not like they went anywhere. Sadly, there's no hogyu in this chapter, but that'll be explained in the next one. I should also mention that this is the second to last chapter. Everything will be resolved and everyone will be happy and all that good stuff the next time I update this.

**i.**   


"You look like crap," Sungyeol states as Woohyun drops himself into the seat next to him.  


"Thanks." Woohyun slouches in the chair. He's too tired to be offended. "That's just what I was going for." He really wishes he could have stayed home. He hadn't fallen asleep until some ungodly hour in the morning. And he wouldn't even call that sleep. By the time he had dragged himself out of bed and gotten ready for school, there was no way he wasn't going to be late. And his mother had quickly shot down his request for a sick day. Her reason being that heartache wasn't a legitimate ailment that required a day off from school. So he had no choice but to come in.  


Sungyeol turns in his seat to face his friend. The sudden change in the other's mood has piqued his interest. Especially with how excited Woohyun had been the day before after asking Dongwoo on that not-a-date. "Any particular reason for that?" He asks innocently.  


"I didn't get much sleep last night," Woohyun answers. And it's true. He spent most of the night tossing and turning and what little he slept had been anything but restful. His body is exhausted. His mind even more so, having not fully shut off yet. He just wants to sleep now and he doesn't doubt he'll actually be able to sleep this time around. But as tired as he is, that's only half of the truth. The rest of it is that he couldn't sleep because his brain kept replaying the kiss with Dongwoo and the older boy's hurried exit not too long afterward. On top of that, his heart had been busy shattering into little pieces inside of his chest. Maybe he's being a little dramatic, but he can't recall rejection feeling like anything else.  


He wants to believe that Dongwoo was just scared and confused. That he took some time to process that he might be gay, or, at least, might have feelings for another guy. And he'll be okay with it and he and Woohyun can talk about it and see how things go from there. Woohyun wants to believe he's just being optimistic. But choosing the best outcome while steadfastly ignoring the worst (even as it's staring him in the face) is only showing how far gone he is for the older boy. He should be angry. He should want nothing to do with Dongwoo. But he only feels understanding for what Dongwoo is going through and a willingness to hear him out ( ~~if~~ ) when he decides he's ready to face Woohyun.  


When he gets around to recounting the kiss to Sungyeol and Hoya, he knows they'll scold him for choosing to let Dongwoo off so easily. And they would be right. It had crushed him to watch Dongwoo walk away without a second glance. He should hate Dongwoo for kissing him (giving him hope) and then telling him not to touch him with so much steel in his voice Woohyun couldn't understand how it came from the sweet boy he'd gotten to learn so much about. But he doesn't. And that's what he hates: the fact that despite the stupidly cliché amount of heartache Dongwoo's caused him, Woohyun can't be mad at him, or, really, feel any negative feelings towards him.  


He feels like an idiot. And he must be the biggest idiot for falling for a guy he can't have and then befriending him knowing it couldn't possibly end well. Hell, he practically predicted it.  


A hand waving in front of his face reminds Woohyun that he's still in school. And still in the middle of a conversation. Sungyeol is staring at him, but he doesn't look annoyed like he usually does whenever he notices that one of his friends isn't paying attention to him.  


"Are you sure you should be in school?" The worry is as evident in Sungyeol's voice as it is in the big, round eyes he's directing at his friend.  


Woohyun is grateful for the other's concern, but he's not quite ready to confide in him. "I'll be fine. I think I'll just skip History and take a nap in the library." The school's library is huge. It shouldn't be too hard to find a spot among the shelves to close his eyes for a half hour or so without being bothered.  


Sungyeol isn't convinced, but he doesn't press Woohyun for the whole truth. He knows something's up; something involving the fact that Dongwoo had gone to Woohyun's house the day before. Woohyun doesn't have to tell him now, but he _will_ tell him what happened.

  


 

  


**ii.**   


"I thought I'd find you here." Sunggyu takes a seat on the same step as a dejected-looking Dongwoo. The latter only glances briefly at him before looking back down at his clasped hands.  


This stairwell had become a secret hiding place for the two of them to come to whenever they felt like they needed a break. It's rarely used and rather out of the way. Perfect for skipping class, even though Sunggyu isn't one to do that.  


"Any reason you're sitting here instead of in the cafeteria for lunch?" The question is met with silence. Sunggyu is worried, but he doesn't want to force his friend to talk to him. Dongwoo’s so-called "hang out" with Woohyun the day before pops into his head. A theory starts to form, but Sunggyu asks his next question tentatively. "Did something happen with Woohyun?"  


Dongwoo flinches slightly at the mention of the other student. Sunggyu finds that odd, what with the two of them becoming so close recently (close enough that he wouldn't have been surprised if he saw them walking hand in hand giving each other the moony looks they don't seem to realize they give each other). He patiently waits for the inevitable "yes" followed by an explanation. Because Dongwoo tells him everything (and vice versa) even if it's reluctantly or belatedly.  


"How could you tell?" Dongwoo turns worried eyes to Sunggyu.  


"Lucky guess." He matches the other's joking-but-not-really-joking tone; their way of not letting things get too serious. "Do you mind telling me why you weren't at your locker this morning? And, more importantly, why you're here now?"  


Dongwoo looks away, thinking of how to phrase his answer. He runs a hand through his hair slowly. Takes a deep breath. Then another. "I-I think," he starts quietly. "I might possiblymaybekindofsortof...like Woohyun."  


The last two words come out just above a whisper. Sunggyu is completely sure he heard them, but he still wants Dongwoo to repeat it. "You might what?"  


Dongwoo sighs. He knows exactly what Sunggyu's doing. He would scream it at him, but it's not really something he wants to broadcast, empty stairwell or not. "I might...like Woohyun."  


"I know," Sunggyu says smugly. When he wasn't thinking about if he was being replaced, he had wondered if maybe there was something else going on.  


Dongwoo's head snaps up so suddenly Sunggyu's surprised it's not broken. "You do?" He doesn't look as worried as before.  


"Well, I suspected," he clarifies. "But now it's confirmed."  


"Oh," is Dongwoo's intelligent response.  


Although they could very well spend the rest of lunch talking about Dongwoo's feelings and their development, Sunggyu brings the conversation back to its main point. "So how does your liking him cause you to become a ghost?" Save for the two classes they had together in the morning, Sunggyu hasn't seen his friend at all. Not at his locker in between classes or en route to class or even in the bathroom.  


Dongwoo shifts as he looks away again. He rubs at his cheeks as they quickly start to turn pink. "Uh, we—yesterday when I went over to his house, we...we kissed."  


Again, the last two words are said so softly that it's like they weren't even spoken. Sunggyu is merciful enough to not have Dongwoo reiterate himself this time. But only because he's caught by surprise. "That I didn't know."  


"You're not freaking out?" Dongwoo glances over at Sunggyu. He hadn't known what kind of reaction he would get from his best friend, but he had steeled himself for the worst.  


"There's nothing to freak out about," Sunggyu shrugs. "And you're my best friend. I'll always be on your side." He gives the younger's shoulder an affectionate squeeze, only a little embarrassed at getting so sappy. "So don't think you can get rid of me so easily." A comfortable moment of silence passes between them. Which Sunggyu promptly fills. "But why are you avoiding Woohyun? If you like him and you guys kissed, shouldn't you be, like, together or something?"  


Dongwoo runs a hand through his hair again; a wave of guilt washes over him. He recalls the hurt look in Woohyun's eyes after Dongwoo had pulled away from him harsher than he'd intended. He had regretted the action and wanted to apologize after replaying the scene (mainly the kiss) multiple times in his head later that night. "I haven't told him that I like him. We kissed and then I freaked out and then I left without even saying anything. Wow, I'm such a terrible person."  


"Why did you freak out?"  


"I don't know."  


"Sure you do." Sunggyu might know just about everything about his best friend, but right now Dongwoo is the only one who can answer the question. Dongwoo sighs, dejected and maybe the slightest bit frustrated. "Okay, how about this," Sunggyu tries. He's well acquainted with talking Dongwoo through his thoughts. It's necessary with someone as spontaneous and free-spirited as him. His thought process seems to follow a non-linear pattern that even he has trouble keeping up with. Sunggyu likes to think he's the anchor keeping his friend grounded. "Did you want to kiss Woohyun?"  


"Yes," Dongwoo answers almost immediately. A somewhat wry smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. "I think I've wanted to for a while now."  


Sunggyu nods at the admission and files it away for later use. "Did you like kissing Woohyun," he continues.  


The blood rushing to Dongwoo's cheeks and ears is enough of an answer, but he's still reluctant to verbalize it. "I don't have to answer that, do I?"  


Sunggyu gives him a light tap on the head. "I'm trying to help you here," he scolds. "Just a yes or no is fine. You don't have to go into detail—actually, I would prefer if you didn't give any details. Because there are some things I really don't need to know."  


Dongwoo snorts out a small laugh. He pulls his legs up a step to wrap his arms comfortably around his knees. "Alright, fine," he says, resting a cheek on his kneecaps and looking over at Sunggyu. "Yes, I liked kissing him." Now that he's calmed down, he wishes he could have kissed Woohyun some more. The feeling of Woohyun's lips is still fresh, both in his mind and on his own lips. He can't decide if it was worse when he tortured himself wondering what the simple meeting of their lips would be like or, having experienced it, knowing how it feels to have Woohyun practically melt in his arms as they kiss deeply and passionately only for him to ruin it by running away. Either way, he's not entirely sure he'll be able to stop himself from attacking Woohyun's lips when they finally end up meeting face-to-face again.  


"And how did it feel when you guys were kissing?"  


Dongwoo picks his head up to give his friend a confused look. "I thought you didn't want details?"  


Sunggyu reaches over and gives Dongwoo another tap on the head, this time harder than the first. The younger boy pouts while rubbing the small aching spot on his head. "Not like that," Sunggyu balks. A quick shake of his head and sharp exhale gets rid of his annoyance. "I _meant_ ," he tries again with more patience. "What were you feeling when you kissed him? Were you happy, angry, confused?"  


Dongwoo looks away from him as he recalls the exact moment. He hadn't been thinking before he kissed Woohyun. They were laughing together and then he had asked if there had been any guys that Woohyun had liked. (Now that he's being completely honest with himself, and Sunggyu, he can admit that he mostly wanted to know if he stood a chance.) Woohyun had given him a vague answer, but it had been enough for him. It hadn't sounded like Woohyun had anyone in mind at the time, so impulsively Dongwoo had decided to put himself on Woohyun's mind.  


"I was nervous," he starts slowly. "I wasn't sure if he would push me away. But then he kissed me back and I was really happy and...relieved, I guess. Because he wanted to kiss me too and he liked it."  


When they had parted the second time, he had looked into Woohyun's eyes and seen the same appreciative look he's come to expect from the other. And then it hit him: he really does like Woohyun. Of course, he could have guessed that much from how close he feels to him (and how much closer he wants to be) and, obviously, his urge to kiss him. But even Dongwoo has to admit that he can be rather slow on the uptake, so he really didn't recognize his feelings for what they were until he had put himself out there for Woohyun to reject if he wanted to.  


"After that I was just really...surprised and overwhelmed. Because I kissed him and I liked it and it felt...right, I guess. Like it was something I should do. I don't know how I didn't realize it before. I just thought I wanted to be friends with him. It didn't feel like when I was interested in a girl. Except, I guess, the wanting to kiss him part. That should have been a dead giveaway. I must be really stupid," he scoffs. "How can you not tell you're falling for someone?"  


"You're not stupid," Sunggyu counters. He rests a comforting hand on his friend's back, adding the small circular motions he knows the other will appreciate. Dongwoo rarely depreciates himself, usually settling for laughing off his shortcomings, so Sunggyu isn't especially experienced in dealing with such instances. He racks his brain for reassuring words. "Sometimes things that you just don't expect to happen do, you know?" Dongwoo lets out another sigh, but doesn't say anything either way. "You should talk to him," Sunggyu suggests. "Tell him what you told me."  


"I know, but...He probably thinks I hate him. Or maybe he hates me for just running out after I was the one who kissed him first."  


Sunggyu doubts Woohyun has it in him to hate Dongwoo, no matter how terrible his friend might have been to him. "If you apologize and explain yourself I'm sure he'll understand. And I doubt he hates you. He's probably just really hurt. But you won't know either way unless you talk to him."  


"I don't know what to say," Dongwoo groans as he holds his head in his hands. He doesn't know what he'll say or do once he sees Woohyun's face. He definitely can't run the other way, as appealing as it sounds.  


"Say you're sorry and that you like him," Sunggyu tells him simply.  


Dongwoo groans again as he covers his face with his hands. He can't recall ever being as terrified of speaking as he is now. The sudden ringing of the bell signaling the end of lunch makes his stomach drop. "Oh my God. I have to see him at rehearsals." It's amazing how quickly something you look forward to can become something to dread.  


Sunggyu pats his shoulder comfortingly. "You still have a couple more hours until then. And you don't even have to talk to him right away. I'm sure he'll understand if you tell him that you needed some time when you finally do talk to him."  


Dongwoo really doesn't like how easy he's making this sound. Talking to Woohyun about anything at all seems downright impossible at the moment.  


Sunggyu stands up and holds a hand out for Dongwoo to grab. "Come on, let's get to class."  


"You go ahead. I'll make sure I'm not late."  


Sunggyu knows he means he's going to wait until the very last minute just so he can avoid possibly running into Woohyun. He thinks about telling him he's being stupid, but then he tells himself that he should be more understanding of what his friend's going through. "Alright, but you're not going to skip class, are you?"  


"Of course not," Dongwoo shakes his head. They're both well-behaved students, so even during an emotional crisis there's no way he's missing class.  


Satisfied with that answer, Sunggyu starts to head down the stairs. He's two steps from the bottom when he stops and turns to look up at Dongwoo. The other is worrying his lower lip and staring ahead, although he's probably not actually seeing anything. "You're coming to rehearsals, right?"  


He knows he should go, but sometimes Dongwoo's cowardice gets the best of him. This feels like one of those times. "I'm not sure yet."  


"I will drag you there if I have to." Dongwoo doesn't usually take Sunggyu’s threats very lightly, but right now between being manhandled and confronting his unexpected crush, he would much rather the former. "Dongwoo," Sunggyu says in a warning tone when he still hasn't answered.  


"Okay, okay." Dongwoo holds up his hands in surrender. "I'll be there."  


"You better."

  


 

  


**iii.**   


" _You what_?" Sungyeol's shrill voice makes all heads turn to where he and Woohyun are supposed to be reviewing their lines for later. Woohyun slaps a hand over his burning face and slides down in his seat. He really hopes Dongwoo isn't looking (and that he doesn't guess what they're talking about). Sungyeol apologizes to Mr. Park for interrupting Jinyoung and Jieun's scene. The play director tsks disapprovingly before turning back to the stage and gestures at the two leads to pick up where they left off. As the pair backtrack, snickers ripple through the audience. Though apologetic, Sungyeol is not one to shy away from attention, so the laughter is welcome.  


"When? Where? Why are you now telling me this and not, you know, the second after it happened?" Sungyeol questions at a much more appropriate volume. He doesn't want to get kicked out for disrupting rehearsals (again). But really this is huge news. Not that he didn't totally see it coming. What with how handsy Dongwoo is and how completely head over heels Woohyun is for him. A dangerous combination, in Sungyeol's opinion. Either way, Hoya now owes him fifty bucks. Speaking of Hoya... "Please tell me I'm the first one you're telling this to."  


Woohyun finally removes his hand from his face to give his friend an incredulous look. "Does it really matter if I tell you or Hoya first?"  


"Yes, yes it does," Sungyeol answers immediately.  


"God, you're so immature." He's told his best friend this on an almost daily basis, so now it's more like stating a fact than hurling an insult. Sungyeol just shrugs, uncaring. "I haven't told him anything and I'm not telling you anything else until I do."  


"Why not?" Sungyeol whines quietly. He's still wary of pissing off Mr. Park. When Woohyun only stares resolutely at the stage, he lets out a frustrated breath. "Fine. If you won't tell me I'll just go ask Dongwoo."  


Woohyun looks over at where Dongwoo is sitting next to Sunggyu. He had been surprised to see the older boy here of all places when he'd been seemingly absent all day. Not that Dongwoo has done anything to acknowledge his presence in the past hour. (Which was the main reason Sungyeol had managed to get him to fess up about the kiss.) He still wants to think Dongwoo is clearing his head before confronting him. As opposed to ignoring him because he wants to forget ever being friends with him. If only that second option didn't seem so much more plausible.  


"Don't you dare." The words lack the bite to make it an actual threat. But it's not really necessary because they both know Sungyeol isn't going to talk to Dongwoo.  


"Alright, I won't," Sungyeol folds his script in half and scoops up his book bag. "But I will go sit with Myungsoo and gossip about you two." With that he leaves his seat, making sure to go about relocating quietly. He's not a naturally quiet person, but he can give it a shot. He drops into the vacant seat next to Myungsoo and immediately invades to other's personal space. "I have the juiciest piece of news."  


"And you can tell me from an appropriate distance," Myungsoo says while pushing his face away.  


Sungyeol rolls his eyes, but bites back any further comments. "You know how Woohyun and Dongwoo have been really close lately? Well, guess what happened?"  


"I'm assuming it has something to do with your little outburst earlier?" Myungsoo looks away from the stage where Gyuri and Doojoon are now going through one of their scenes. Sungyeol isn't going away anytime soon, so he might as well try to engage him.  


"They kissed."  


He had only been half-listening, but that gets Myungsoo's full attention. "But I thought—"  


"Everyone thought so," Sungyeol interrupts.  


"And when did this happen?" Honestly, Myungsoo isn't one to gossip, but his friends seem intent on getting him involved in everyone else's business. Sungjong is always telling him things he heard from a friend who heard it from a friend. And Sungyeol has kept him very up-to-date with Woohyun's love life. He doesn't even ask and they just come to talk his ears off, taking his silence to mean he's listening (and cares).  


"I don't know exactly when, but my guess is some time yesterday."  


Myungsoo looks over at Dongwoo in the front row, concentrated on the stage. Then he looks at Woohyun sitting a few rows back. His focus seems to be on the back of Dongwoo's head. Myungsoo wonders if Dongwoo can feel the eyes on him. Woohyun's gaze looks like it's strong enough to drill a hole into Dongwoo's head. "From the looks of it, Dongwoo probably reacted badly and now he won't talk to Woohyun. That's not to say he doesn't like him; he just wasn't expecting to fall for a guy. They'll work it out, I'm sure."  


Sungyeol looks over at the would-be couple trying to see what Myungsoo had seen to draw that conclusion. His jaw drops, rather dramatically, when the pieces come together. "Whoa," he breathes. "You should be a detective."  


"Didn't you know? I was Sherlock Holmes in a past life." Myungsoo smiles smugly at the older boy. For someone with so much book sense, Sungyeol's observational skills suck.  


"Please," he scoffs. "Like you could've been someone that cool in a past life." Myungsoo gives him a light punch and he returns a playful shove. "Besides, that's a fictional character."  


"I'm surprised you know the meaning of the word 'fictional'." He thinks he might be spending too much time with Sungyeol because he's actually starting to like childishly insulting his intelligence. "So are you going to do something about Woohyun and Dongwoo? Meddling in other people's lives seems like something you would do."  


"You flatter me," Sungyeol deadpans. "But I should get the full story before I go and make their lives easier."  


"Because you work miracles, huh?" Myungsoo asks sarcastically.  


"Didn't you know," he manages a near-perfect impression of Myungsoo's smug tone from earlier. "I was a saint in a past life."  


Myungsoo snorts out a laugh and has to cover his mouth to avoid disrupting the scene on stage. He laughs into his hands for a good minute while Sungyeol watches with an amused (and maybe fond) smile on his face. When he finally calms down, he slumps in his chair, totally spent, leaning his forehead on his friend's shoulder.  


"You good? Can we continue our conversation now?"  


He nods, still regaining his breath. "Just imagining you as a nice person is hilarious."  


Sungyeol shrugs his shoulder, jostling Myungsoo’s head. "Geez, you make it sound like I'm Satan or something." He's only half-offended. He can understand why he might not seem like the kindest person. His first impression on the other had not been entirely pleasant. But he likes to think he's not as brusque as before.  


Myungsoo picks his head up to look at him. "I'm sure Satan is much better looking."  


"And you said you didn't swing that way." Myungsoo punches Sungyeol's arm with more force than the first time. "What, you started it," Sungyeol says while rubbing the aching spot on his arm. "But, believe it or not, I didn't come here to talk about your sexual confusion."  


"No, you came to talk about someone else's."  


"Exactly," Sungyeol nods approvingly.  


"Well, let's do that some other time. My scene's coming up, so I have to go backstage to get ready." Myungsoo turns to the unoccupied seat on his other side to retrieve his discarded script. "You better call me later and tell me what happened with those two." He points his rolled up script at the other threateningly.  


"Are you sure you're not a closeted gossipmonger?"  


Myungsoo stops himself from responding with an immature comment. (If he did there would no telling how long they would throw insults back and forth.) Instead he whacks Sungyeol's head once with the script before getting up and heading backstage.  


Not wanting to sit by himself, Sungyeol reluctantly goes back to sit next to Woohyun. As expected, his friend doesn't talk to him for the rest of rehearsals. They both know if he did Sungyeol would only ask why he and Dongwoo are acting like strangers. But he doesn't mind the lack of conversation. After talking to Myungsoo he has a better idea of what happened between the two. He's still antsy for the full story, though.  


"Alright," Woohyun says as they leave the auditorium. They're one of the first students to leave since Woohyun practically bolted once Mr. Park had called it a day. "Let's go find Hoya and then I'll tell you both what happened." They find Hoya standing by the doors of the gym talking with Sungjong.  


"Guess whose angel finally gave him the kiss he's been dying for?" Sungyeol asks without any preamble as he and Woohyun come to a stop in front of the two.  


It takes a moment for the words to sink in, but when they do Hoya's eyes go wide. "When? Where? And why am I now hearing about this?" He points an accusatory finger at Woohyun.  


"Well," Sungjong pipes up. "I take it that's my cue to leave." He rests a hand on Hoya’s arm, giving him a significant look as he asks, “You’ll call me later, right?” Hoya nods and waves him off quickly.  


Woohyun is thankful that the younger boy can sense the situation and willingly excuses himself. But it's not like that really matters because he's going to get the full story from Myungsoo who will no doubt get it from Sungyeol.  


Woohyun waits until Sungjong is far enough down the hallway to be out of earshot to start talking. "I'm going to tell you guys what happened, but you can't say anything until I'm done." Hoya and Sungyeol both nod their agreement with matching looks of anticipation. "Don't get your hopes too high," he warns. "There's not that much to it."  


"Just spit it out already."  


Woohyun glares at Sungyeol, but complies. "Alright, well, he came over to my house so we could go over our lines, but we didn't actually do much of that—don't look at me like that, Hoya. And get your mind out of the gutter. It was totally PG. Anyway," he tries to get back on point. Hoya had given him a scandalized look when he had said they weren't doing what they were supposed to be doing. He'll question his friend's view of his chastity later, there are more important things to worry about. "I _meant_ instead of running our lines we just hung out and talked about random stuff. It was...interesting." Woohyun has to force himself to not get distracted thinking about talking with Dongwoo and how intimate it was. He clears his throat as he gets ready to recount the most important part of the night before. "So we were sitting on my bed—well, he was sitting. I was lying down, but that's not really important—not you, too, Sungyeol." Woohyun has to stop now that both Hoya and Sungyeol are looking at him like he just admitted he had some weird fetish. "Both of you stop looking at me like that! Like I'm some wanton harlot going around seducing innocent men."  


"Then stop making it sound inappropriate," Hoya chides.  


"Are we just going to ignore that he totally sounded exactly like my great-grandmother?"  


Even Woohyun has to admit he had been channeling his inner great-grandmother, but that's not important right now. "Listen, you both said you wouldn't say anything until I was done. And, yes, judging looks do count." He quickly jumps back into his story before the other two can protest. "So we were on my bed and we were talking and then he just...kissed me. And then I kissed him back and," Woohyun's cheeks start to flush at the memory. "It was good, really good. It looked like he thought so, too, but then it was like a light went on in his head. Like he realized what he was doing and who he was doing it with... He freaked out, which is understandable, I guess."  


"And now he's avoiding you," Hoya finishes for him. Woohyun nods weakly. "Do you want me to beat him up for you?"  


"What," Woohyun stares at him aghast. "No. Why would I want that? I'm not mad at him." Which is unfortunately true. He has the right to be, but he just doesn't feel any anger. Not even as he watched Dongwoo leave without looking back. Or hours later, as he lay in his bed staring at the ceiling and replaying the whole scene. "It would be a lot easier if I were, but... I don't know."  


"So are you going to talk to him or are you waiting for him to make the first move?"  


Woohyun sighs in response to Hoya's question. It would probably be better if he lets Dongwoo come to him. He does owe Woohyun an apology and an explanation. "I think I should wait until he's ready to talk." Hoya and Sungyeol nod in agreement and Woohyun wraps his arms around their shoulders (it's a bit of a stretch for Sungyeol) as they finally head for the school doors. For the first time since kissing Dongwoo, Woohyun feels content. He's not happy (because there's really only one thing that'll make him truly happy at the moment), but knowing that his friends are on his side is a comfort. An expected and welcome comfort.


	7. Act VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it took me a month to write this chapter. And it's not even that great. i still suck at endings so it is what it is. Even though it says this is the last chapter, I might still write one more chapter. It will probably be a while for that, though.

**i.**  


It's not that Hoya's avoiding Sunggyu. He's just...avoiding being in the same room as him. That's not really the same thing. So running into him in the stairwell as he's coming from lunch throws a wrench into his plans. He's heading up to his art class as Sunggyu is coming down from wherever. Sunggyu snags his arm and pulls him over to a corner of the landing between the two flights of stairs. At least Sunggyu doesn't look upset to see him. And he would have every reason to considering Hoya was the one who instigated their kiss and yet hasn't spoken to him in a week. He waits until it's just the two of them before he says anything.  


"Call me crazy, but I'm getting the feeling you're avoiding me."  


Hoya ducks his head guiltily even though there's no bite in the other's words. He could use Woohyun and Dongwoo's situation as an excuse, but that has nothing to do with them. He's not afraid to face Sunggyu because of what's going on with their friends.  


"Do your ears only get red when you're embarrassed," Sunggyu asks as he reaches out to run his fingers over one of Hoya's ears. His fingers are cool against Hoya's skin, tracing from the shell of his ear to the lobe.  


Hoya fights a losing battle to keep his eyes from fluttering at the touch. His heart is hammering in his chest. He hasn't felt so nervous around anyone in such a long time that he's at a bit of a loss for what to do next. Sunggyu's so close and surprisingly not mad (or just not showing it) and Hoya has no idea what's supposed to happen.  


"I was kind of hoping to have a conversation with you." Sunggyu has yet to let go of Hoya's ear. His grip is loose as he catches Hoya's eyes and gives him a reassuring smile. "But that would mean you'd have to actually say something."  


Hoya looks away again, trying to figure out the best way to go about admitting his feelings to Sunggyu. Although, if he had known he would run into the other boy he probably still wouldn't know what to say. A minute of silence passes and Hoya thinks about weaseling his way out of this confession with the valid excuse of being late for class. But it's just art. Even Ms. Shin isn't overly concerned with her students' attendance. And Sunggyu, for all his cool guy bravado, doesn't look like he'll let Hoya off that easily. He might not be mad, but he still wants answers.  


"I know I don't look it," Hoya starts. He meets Sunggyu's gaze as evenly as he can and forces himself to hold it. "But I'm actually not that good at this kind of thing." He's not as embarrassed to admit it as he thought he would be. It's not like he has a reputation or anything. His list of exes is rather short and he's certain all of the people on it would have nothing but nice things to say about him, even though their relationship hadn't lasted. He's a good boyfriend, at least he's always tried to be. His only problem is articulating his feelings. It's easy enough to know that he likes someone and that he wants to be with them. He just has trouble with the words; they feel awkward on his tongue and are almost always inadequate compared to what he really wants to say.  


"What kind of thing is this exactly?" Sunggyu's finally let go of Hoya's ear, opting for crossing his arms over his chest instead. His tone sounds defensive like he thinks Hoya's trying to reject him. (Even though neither of them have actually confessed anything yet.)  


Hoya thinks about his options before answering. He could come right out and admit that he likes Sunggyu. And then ask him on a date. Or he could open up a bit more about his "emotional constipation" as Sungyeol so helpfully calls it. In the end he chooses a mixture of the two. "This is me saying that I like you. And even though it seems like I regret kissing you, I don't. I liked it...a lot, actually." Sunggyu looks away this time, becoming extremely interested in the wall next to them. His sudden shyness gives Hoya the courage to reach out and take a hold of Sunggyu's chin. He turns Sunggyu's head until he's looking at him again. "This kind of thing," he says slowly, "is me asking you to go out with me."  


Sunggyu's sheepishness lasts another five seconds. "Did you get that line from a drama," he asks, batting Hoya's hand away.  


"We can try this again some other time, if you want." Sunggyu only laughs and reaches out again for Hoya's ear. From the coolness of his fingers Hoya is sure his ears must be burning red again. He's starting to think Sunggyu might have a thing for his ears. It figures the first person he's liked in a while turns out to be a weirdo. But he shouldn't complain because he kind of likes it. "So Friday's good?"  


"Friday's great," Sunggyu agrees. His hand slides down from Hoya's ear to rest at the nape of his neck. He looks at Hoya with a smile that flips the younger boy's stomach. Despite how nonchalant Sunggyu likes to pretend he is, Hoya can see he's just as awkward when it comes to relationships. It shows in the way he leans in just until their noses brush but then stops as if he's second guessing himself. Hoya pulls him closer with a tug on his tie. Their lips graze briefly before Sunggyu gets the courage to kiss Hoya fully. It ends up shorter than either of them would like it to be, but only because Hoya pulls away to give Sunggyu a warning.  


"I hope you know that my friends'll be all over you when I tell them about us."  


Sunggyu snorts. "Are you worried your friends won't like me," he teases.  


"I wouldn't blame them," Hoya throws back with a roll of his eyes. "And they know who you are, so they probably don't like you already." He laughs when Sunggyu smacks him on the shoulder. Them being (sort of) together isn't going to stop him from ragging on Sunggyu. It's kind of a side effect of his emotional constipation.  


"Don't worry, I can take care of myself." At least Sunggyu's able to keep up with him. He's not put off by Hoya's teasing and can actually leave Hoya speechless. "We should probably get to class," Sunggyu says with a sigh that sounds like he'd rather do anything but that.  


Hoya is equally reluctant, but chooses not to say it. "You do have a reputation to uphold," he quips instead. He's not surprised when Sunggyu oh so eloquently (read: with red-tinged cheeks and another half-hearted smack on the shoulder) tells him to shut up before leaning in to make sure Hoya does just that.

  


 

  


**ii.**  


Woohyun is five feet from the door to the boys' bathroom when it swings open and in walks the last person he's expecting to see. Dongwoo takes two steps into the room before he catches sight of the boy in front of him and stops in his tracks. The door closes behind him with a short thud that echoes in the silence between the two.  


Woohyun feels a tightness in his chest as he stares back at Dongwoo. It's barely been a week since their kiss. And only days since he's started seeing the other at other times besides rehearsals. He would be lying if he said he hasn't missed Dongwoo or that he isn't stupidly happy to finally be face-to-face with him. He doesn't even bother trying to look anything other than lovesick. The expression comes too easily.  


Tension hangs heavily in the air as they both wait for the other to react. From the wary look in his eyes Woohyun guesses the upperclassman must be expecting harsh words from him. He quells the immediate urge to assure him that he doesn't intend on saying anything hateful. It would be better if Dongwoo spoke first.  


"I like you," Dongwoo all but yells. The confession unravels most of the little ball of rejection that had formed in Woohyun's chest. Along with increasing his heartbeat and coloring his cheeks to match the pink on Dongwoo's. "N-no, I didn't mean to say that," he stutters at a more reasonable volume. He twists his hands together nervously, unable to maintain eye contact. "I-I mean I _did_ —I do—like you. I just didn't mean to say that first."  


"What were you going to say first, then?" Woohyun had considered staying silent and letting Dongwoo ramble until he figures out what he's trying to say. That would have made Sungyeol proud. But Woohyun doesn't have that kind of a mean streak in him.  


"I'm sorry," the older student answers immediately as he takes a couple hesitant steps forward. "I shouldn't have left like that. And I'm sorry for avoiding you. I just didn't know what to say—I still don't know, actually. Not that it matters since you probably hate me right now. I don't blame you if you don't even want to talk to me ever again. But I want you to know I'm really, _really_ sorry. And I would really like it if you gave me a chance to explain myself."  


From his expression alone Woohyun can tell how sincere Dongwoo is in his apology. And how upset he is about hurting him. It takes what's probably the last of Woohyun's self-control to keep his feet firmly planted in the same spot he's been standing in since Dongwoo walked through the door. His first instinct had been to go to Dongwoo and hold him close while he accepts his apology, punctuating it with a kiss. (It's incredibly cheesy of him and he will most definitely not be sharing that part when he relays this exchange to his two friends.) But he doesn't want to come off as too submissive. Although his ego is still on the mend, his pride is fully intact. Since meeting Dongwoo, Hoya and Sungyeol have been doubtful of that fact, even though Woohyun has pointed it out to them on many occasions.  


"I don't hate you." Woohyun assures him. The relief that washes over Dongwoo's face spurs the next words out if his mouth. "I like you, too. A lot, actually." He takes a deep breath before continuing. If they're going to have this talk now he should be completely honest. "I've liked you since I first met you. I didn't tell you before because I didn't want things to get weird or uncomfortable since you were trying to be my friend. And I didn't think you would ever like me the same way. But that was, you know, before you kissed me." Woohyun doesn't know if he was the one who closed the gap between the two of them or if it was Dongwoo, but now the other student is close enough to touch if he wanted to. And he really wants to. So he does. He takes one of Dongwoo's hands and the other responds immediately, stepping even closer and intertwining their fingers.  


Dongwoo visibly brightens at the contact. It's obvious he wants more of Woohyun's skin under his hands. To maybe let his fingers trail across the younger boy's cheek. Or wrap his arms around his waist and lay his head on Woohyun's chest. But the lingering guilt keeps him from acting on the impulse.  


"It's okay," Woohyun tells him. "I know it must have come as a surprise to realize you have feelings for me. I get why you reacted the way you did. So you don't have to feel bad about what happened. And I'm willing to hear whatever you have to say."  


Dongwoo tries to contain his joy with a small smile as he squeezes the younger student's hand. "So does this mean you're giving me a second chance?"  


"Yes, but you should know that if you screw it up again Hoya and Sungyeol are prepared to make you pay for it."  


It's hard to tell if Woohyun’s being serious with the way he's smiling and the light tone he uses. "Then I guess I won’t screw it up," Dongwoo concludes. He doesn’t need the threat of bodily harm as an incentive to treat Woohyun well; that’s already his plan. Woohyun hasn’t stopped smiling and Dongwoo couldn’t be happier for it. He’s always liked the younger boy’s smile. His eyes flicker down to the younger student's lips briefly and Woohyun can see the internal struggle Dongwoo has play across his face. His decision becomes evident when he reaches his free hand up to cup Woohyun's cheek. "Can I..." His voice fades from uncertainty, but he doesn't need to finish the sentence. Woohyun gives a slight nod in answer, already leaning down to meet him half-way.  


Of course this is the exact moment the bathroom door swings open and the squeak of shoes coming to an abrupt stop pulls them back into the present. Which is them standing incredibly close in the boys' bathroom on the verge of kissing. They jump apart as if they were burned. Woohyun takes a sudden interest in the ceiling, too embarrassed to try to act like something innocent had been going on. Although he's been out of the closet for some years now, like any high school student he would rather not have unsavory rumors about him floating around the school. Which this is sure to cause.  


"Oh, don't mind me." This comes with a breezy laugh from the new boy in the room. Woohyun doesn't know if he should feel relieved or mortified that the voice is familiar. On one hand, it's only Kibum so he doesn't have to worry about rumors. But on the other, it's _Kibum_. "I'll just be, you know, doing what you normally do in a bathroom," he says as he walks past the two red-faced boys to the line of urinals.  


Woohyun rolls his eyes at his friend's sarcasm. Most of his embarrassment has faded and now he mainly feels mild irritation at being interrupted. "I was just leaving, actually." He ignores Kibum's barely concealed snort and turns to Dongwoo. The blond had busied himself with the instructions for the hand dryer, but he snaps out of it when he feels Woohyun's eyes on him. "See you at your locker after school?" Woohyun asks him quietly.  


He murmurs a yes and gives Woohyun a smile full of cheery hopefulness. If it weren't for Kibum still being in the room Woohyun would kiss that smile right off Dongwoo's face. (Although, if he hadn't shown up they would probably be too preoccupied for Dongwoo to be smiling.) Instead he settles on a lingering touch to the other's forearm. As he's turning away from Dongwoo he remembers he's about to leave him alone with his intimidatingly honest friend and he should give some warning.  


"Don't take everything he says too seriously." He tells Dongwoo in an undertone with a tilt of his chin to indicate he was referring to Kibum. Dongwoo opens his mouth, most likely to ask what Kibum might say, but he's interrupted by the very person they're talking about.  


"I'll go easy on him." Kibum is leaning against a sink, arms crossed and smirk in place. "Don't worry about it."  


"That doesn't actually reassure me." Woohyun takes a look at the boy next to him, both confused and wary. He can't help finding it immensely cute. "Can you try to not to scare him away," he asks his friend. "I’m planning on keeping this one."  


Dongwoo is staring wide-eyed after him as he hurries to the door. Despite having already told Dongwoo how he feels, Woohyun is too embarrassed by his words to wait and see what the other might say.

  


  


**iii.**  


"I can't believe you didn't tell me."  


Sunggyu's sitting on the sidelines in the gym watching the game of dodgeball they technically shouldn't be playing. (But there's a substitute, so the rules get bent a little bit.) He'd been one of the first to get out—partly because he didn't want to participate and partly because if one of the higher-ups caught them then at least he could say he was just a witness. He looks up to see Bora looming over him and realizes belatedly that the statement had been directed at him.  


"Um, I'm sorry," he says. The way his voice goes up at the end almost makes it sound like a question. Which is fitting because he doesn't actually know what he's apologizing for.  


"You should be," Bora scolds him as she drops down next to him. "I had to find out from someone else that you're dating Hoya. That's something you tell your friends the moment it happens."  


Sunggyu gapes at her, speechless. He hasn't even told Dongwoo yet about Howon and him and yet it seems like the whole school knows. To be fair, they had been hanging out a lot already so it's not a far stretch for some nosy student to assume they're dating and spread it around. He starts to ask her where she got that information from, but he's interrupted by Jonghyun on his other side. After getting out in the first five minutes thanks to a hard hit from Minho he'd been glued to his phone, but Sunggyu's love life seems to have upstaged it.  


"You're dating Hoya?"  


"Yeah, I, uh, I guess I am." Sunggyu glances at him before looking towards the gym floor. The game is still going strong; the sounds of sneakers squeaking on the floor and the rubber balls smacking against the walls fill up the gym. It's feels weird to admit it, that he and Howon like each other; that they're together. But he also likes how it sounds.  


Jonghyun smiles as he claps Sunggyu on the back and congratulates him. Sunggyu nods shyly, feeling himself quickly going red in the cheeks. To distract from his embarrassment, he turns back to Bora. "How did you find out anyway?"  


"Not from you."  


Sunggyu groans and lays back on the floor. It's only been five minutes; of course she's not over it yet. "Okay, I get it," he sighs, "I should have told you. Do you want me to tell you about it now?"  


Bora's eyes light up at the question and she latches onto Sunggyu's arm. "Yes. Tell me _everything_." Sunggyu feels his stomach drop at the excitement in her voice. A look at his watch tells him there's still a good half hour left of gym and his friend isn't going anywhere. Of course, it’s only after he’s dug himself into a hole that he regrets it.

  


 

  


**iv.**  


Sungyeol makes fake gagging noises as he's forced to watch Woohyun and Dongwoo stare at each other. They're not even saying anything; they're just making goo-goo eyes at each other with stupid grins on their faces. This is not what he'd signed up for. "Just kiss already," he groans. It's obvious that's what they want to do. They should just get it over with already. He's happy for them and that things worked out, but he wishes they would act like it. There's no reason for them to be all modest when they've already admitted their feelings. Or maybe that's just Sungyeol. (He's not really one for being understated.)  


Woohyun finally looks away from Dongwoo to glare at Sungyeol. Although it would be more effective if he wasn't blushing like crazy. Sungyeol should start dating too if it bothers him so much. Or just learn to deal with it. The scowl melts off his face when Dongwoo laughs and wraps his arm around his waist. He can't stay mad—well, annoyed—with Dongwoo smiling at him like that.  


"Is that a no?" Dongwoo's voice is soft in Woohyun's ear. He doesn't seem as shy about the idea as Woohyun would have thought he would be considering they’re in a hallway full of people. And they haven’t talked about what they are to each other yet. With a small shake of his head Woohyun leans in to peck Dongwoo's cheek. His face is burning when he steps back. Dongwoo lets out a cute giggle as he turns towards his locker and fans his face.  


"You two are hopeless," Sungyeol mutters mostly to himself. They weren't half as awkward when they'd been hiding their feelings. It's kind of cute. In a nauseating kind of way.  


Woohyun shoves him half-heartedly before threatening, "Don't make me come up there." Sungyeol snorts first, amused at the idea, and Woohyun joins in with soft chuckles. Having recovered from his bout of bashfulness, Dongwoo's laughter rings out along with theirs. The only thing missing for Woohyun is the laughter of his other best friend. He scans the hallway for any sign of Hoya, knowing it's only a matter of time before he shows up.  


"I think he's avoiding us," Sungyeol intones almost like he's reading Woohyun's mind. Neither of them have seen Hoya since their locker meet-up in the morning. Not even at lunch, also known as Hoya's favorite class. Which had been odd, but they hadn't thought too much about it. Now that it's the end of the day, though, Hoya's absence is glaringly obvious.  


"Probably because he doesn't want you to ask him about Sunggyu for the millionth time," Woohyun says. Like a conspiracy theorist, Sungyeol has held on tightly to his belief that there's something going on between Hoya and Sunggyu. Hoya either denies the claims or refuses to answer. Honestly, Woohyun had been too distracted by Dongwoo to worry about who Hoya may or may not be dating, but all that matters to him is that his friend is happy, single or not.  


"Well, if he would just tell me the truth I wouldn't have to ask him so many times."  


Woohyun rolls his eyes. That's a very Sungyeol-like answer. "And you wonder why he doesn't want to tell you anything." Sungyeol only shrugs, unaffected. "Actually, come to think of it, Sunggyu's not here either." He turns to Dongwoo to ask, "He hasn't told you anything about Hoya and him, has he?"  


"I don't know if I should tell you," he replies reluctantly. That only serves to gain Woohyun and Sungyeol's undivided attention. Dongwoo steps back until he bumps into the door of his locker as the two close in on him. He looks exactly like he had the first time he'd met Sungyeol. "But I guess I should?" Woohyun and Sungyeol both nod eagerly. "He told me that he kissed Hoya last week."  


There's a moment of silence while the news sinks in. Woohyun speaks up first. "Last _week_ ," he asks, his voice getting slightly shrill from his incredulity. Rationally, he knows Hoya probably had his reasons for not telling them. But irrationally, he doesn't think those reasons are very good if Sunggyu didn't hesitate to tell Dongwoo about it. Woohyun didn't even take that long to tell Sungyeol and Hoya about kissing Dongwoo. (Granted, the circumstances had been different and he didn't really have a choice in the matter, but he definitely didn't plan on keeping it a secret for a whole week.)  


Woohyun's reaction, although dramatic, is quite tame compared to Sungyeol's. "That lying little hobbit," he fumes. Surprised by the outburst, several students stop to look at him in confusion. He's too caught up in his anger to notice, though.  


"You don't mean me, right?"  


Sungyeol, Woohyun, and Dongwoo all turn to see Myungsoo standing beside Sungyeol. There's a smile on his face despite the tension emanating from Sungyeol and Woohyun. (Dongwoo is also tense, but mostly from being unaccustomed to the melodrama that is his soon-to-be boyfriend and his friend. He's even unconsciously started holding Woohyun's hand.)  


Sungyeol calms down slightly at the sight of Myungsoo. "No, I don't mean you," he says with a sigh.  


"Oh, were you talking about Hoya then? Because he's dating Sunggyu now?"  


Much to Dongwoo's surprise (and relief), Woohyun and Sungyeol take the news pretty well. They don't look particularly happy to be the last to know, but at least there's no shouting or name-calling. According to Myungsoo, someone had claimed to have seen Hoya and Sunggyu holding hands earlier in the day which sparked rumors that they were dating then it had been confirmed to be true by Sunggyu not too long after and it practically spread like wildfire after that. Myungsoo hadn't believed it until he asked Sungjong, who had already asked Hoya, and he'd assumed Sungyeol already knew so he hadn't bothered bringing it up.  


Sungyeol sighs again. He should have seen this coming. Not the whole Hoya-Sunggyu thing; he'd been almost completely sure about that from the beginning. What he should have expected was that if Woohyun ended up with Dongwoo and Hoya finally admitted he had something with Sunggyu, then that would make him the odd one out. His two best friends are dating and he's still alone. He's not really interested in anyone at the moment so it can't be helped, but he still wants to be in a relationship.  


"I can't believe Hoya managed to ask someone out before me," he says in disbelief. Woohyun agrees with a nod. Hoya's always been an awkward turtle when it comes to dating; it's a wonder he has any experience at all. Sungyeol has no idea how he managed to attract someone like Sunggyu. And he doesn't want to find out either.  


"I'm sure you'll meet someone soon," Dongwoo assures Sungyeol. The genuine smile on his face keeps the younger boy from rolling his eyes at the generic words like he normally would. He knows Dongwoo really means them.  


Myungsoo throws an arm over Sungyeol's shoulder and says, "And until then you'll still have me."  


"Don't remind me."

  


 

  


**v.**   


In Hoya's defense, it hadn't been his idea to share a kiss in such an obvious place like the auditorium. He'd just gone there to check if Sunggyu knew that the whole school was buzzing with the news of their five-hour-old relationship. (Hoya had only heard about it from a heartbroken freshman who had demanded the truth from him as he was heading to the cafeteria. Of course, he'd assumed his friends knew about it and had then been forced to skip lunch to avoid facing their outrage at being kept out of the loop.)  


"I didn't think it was supposed to be a secret," Sunggyu says. His back is to Hoya so he can't see his expression, but Hoya recognizes the defensive tone. It’s the same one he’d used earlier when he’d thought Hoya was rejecting him. Sunggyu’s sitting in front of the piano that’s set up on one side of the stage. He continues tapping random keys as Hoya slowly approaches him. He doesn't even react when Hoya joins him on the bench.  


"It's not a secret." Hoya slides a little closer to Sunggyu. "I just wasn't expecting it to spread around the school in one day. Especially since it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. But it's kinda nice." Sunggyu finally looks over at Hoya. He raises a questioning eyebrow, but doesn't say anything. "Telling people that I'm with you," Hoya explains. "I like it."  


A blush creeps up Sunggyu's neck to color his cheeks. "Yeah?" For the first time Hoya is willing to admit that he finds Sunggyu cute. Especially with the lopsided smile on his face. Hoya nods and returns the smile, sliding closer still. "I like it, too," Sunggyu agrees. Hoya can feel his ears getting hotter and hotter and he's surprised Sunggyu hasn't reached out yet to touch them. (And maybe he's kind of hoping he will.) One would think that after they'd both been fifteen minutes late to class thanks to their little talk earlier that day, Sunggyu wouldn't be as awkward as he is leaning in to kiss Hoya. He misses at first, catching the corner of the other's mouth. Hoya snorts softly and tilts his head so that their lips connect perfectly. He reaches up to cup Sunggyu's cheek, stroking the skin slowly with his thumb. As cheesy as it sounds, Hoya doesn't think he could ever get tired of kissing Sunggyu. Or of the way Sunggyu looks at him when they're done. It's full of warmth and affection and Hoya has to fight the urge to squirm from how uncomfortably happy it makes him. (Of course that's his emotional constipation rearing its ugly head.)  


"You know, this is really cute and all," Sungyeol's loud voice cuts through the silence in the auditorium. Hoya and Sunggyu turn their heads at the same time to see him standing at the back entrance along with Woohyun, Dongwoo, Myungsoo, and Sungjong. He continues talking as the five of them start walking down the middle aisle toward the stage. "And we promise we'll be really happy for you two, but first we're gonna need you to explain how we were the last to know about this."  


"Well, I was kind of the first to know," Sungjong says quietly. But, really, it's not all that quiet when they're in one of the acoustically better rooms in the school. Sungyeol shoots a glare at him and he presses his lips together tightly. He even goes as far as miming zipping his mouth shut and locking it with an imaginary key. Sungyeol isn't impressed. (He hasn't quite warmed up to Sungjong just yet, but Myungsoo still has hope.)  


When they finally reach the stage, Dongwoo hops onto it and lays down. Woohyun smiles over at him and reaches out to pet his hair. Myungsoo also goes to sit on the stage. He leans back on his hands as he swings his legs from side to side. Sungyeol stays standing with his arms crossed. Honestly speaking, he's not really all that mad anymore. He had mostly calmed down on the way over. Probably from having to deal with Myungsoo. The other is surprisingly good at being a distraction. Sungyeol doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing. "Well," he asks expectantly.  


Hoya knows he couldn't have avoided them forever; that hadn't even been his plan. But he still wishes he could have had just a little more time keeping Sunggyu to himself. (In the figurative sense.) He turns on the bench to face his friends and Sunggyu eventually follows suit. "It wasn't supposed to happen like that," he starts. For some strange reason, it feels like he's answering to his parents rather than his friends. That could be because he's been withholding a lot—everything, actually—about his relationship with Sunggyu. At first he hadn't thought there was anything worth mentioning; they were just ~~flirting~~ talking. But then he started to like Sunggyu and things got complicated. He didn't necessarily mean to keep it from Sungyeol and Woohyun, but he knew they would make a big deal about it (at least Sungyeol would) and he really hadn't wanted it to be one. He still doesn't. "I was going to tell you during lunch, but by then the whole school was already talking about it and I figured you guys would be mad so I didn't."  


"We're not mad," Woohyun assures him.  


Sungyeol moves to sit cross-legged next to Myungsoo on the stage. "We _were_ mad," he amends.  


"He called you a hobbit," Myungsoo informs Hoya.  


Sungjong covers his mouth as he laughs. "I can see that."  


"Me, too." This comes from Sunggyu of all people. The grin on his face turns his eyes into little crescents. Hoya wonders if he can see the incredulous look he's giving him.  


"We're practically the same height." Sunggyu only smiles wider and reaches out to run his fingers over Hoya's ear. (It must be red again.) "If anyone's a hobbit it's Dongwoo," Hoya says with a pout as he bats away Sunggyu's hand.  


Dongwoo perks up at the mention of his name, but Woohyun cuts in before he can say anything. "Hey, leave him out of this." He looks down at Dongwoo and they share a sweet look that has everyone else in the room cringing. Except Myungsoo; he's off in his own world.  


"So anyway—"  


Myungsoo interrupts Sungyeol to ask, "Which one would I be?"  


"The ugliest." Sungyeol clears his throat and tries to bring the conversation back to the real reason they're all here. "So _anyway_ , we were mad at you, but now we're just happy for you. And I totally called it, so you're welcome." A chorus of sighs follows the statement.  


Sunggyu pops up from the piano bench and pulls Hoya up to join him. "Okay, since we have everyone's blessing we're leaving now."  


"We are?" Hoya remains unmoving as Sunggyu attempts to usher him off the stage. Not that he minds getting to spend time with the other boy, but they hadn't really made any plans for the rest of the day.  


Sunggyu relaxes his grip on Hoya's forearm to move his hand down to hold his hand. "Unless you'd rather stay so they can ask you about your feelings," he asks with a raise of his eyebrows.  


Although intangible, Hoya can feel his emotional constipation start to roil somewhere in the vicinity of his stomach. He might even be sweating. Yeah, there's no way he's opening up about anything, especially not about Sunggyu. He squeezes Sunggyu's hand, eliciting a reassuring smile from the older boy. "I'll call you guys later, okay," he promises his friends before letting Sunggyu lead him towards the backstage exit.  


Sungyeol jumps to his feet in an instant. "You can't leave me with _these two_." He points an accusing finger at Woohyun and Dongwoo. They've gone back to the goo-goo-eyed staring that makes Sungyeol's toes curl involuntarily. His words do nothing to stop Hoya or Sunggyu; they leave without a glance back. A tug on his pant leg brings Sungyeol's attention down to Myungsoo.  


"I'm still here, you know," he pouts up at Sungyeol. (Sungjong's quietly added "me too" is promptly ignored by the both of them.) Myungsoo’s eyes have gone all round and soft. He’s probably trying to win some sympathy.  


The look doesn’t work on Sungyeol, though. “I was trying to forget, but thanks for reminding me.” Myungsoo smacks the back of Sungyeol’s knee in response, making him stumble. Sungyeol aims a kick at the other, but he’s already hopped off the stage. Naturally, Sungyeol jumps off after him and starts chasing him around the auditorium.  


With Sungyeol’s unnecessary screeching echoing in the room, Sungjong turns to Woohyun and Dongwoo. “So you two, huh?”  


“Uh, yeah, us two,” Woohyun says slowly. He doesn’t know what the younger boy means by that, but he does know that Sungjong must know everything about his relationship with Dongwoo courtesy of Sungyeol via Myungsoo.  


“You guys can go now if you want,” Sungjong tells them. “I’m sure you have more important things to do than babysitting.” He nods in the direction of Sungyeol and Myungsoo. The latter is cackling like an idiot as he weaves through the rows of seats while Sungyeol is busy hopping over the seats trying to catch up to him.  


When Woohyun turns to Dongwoo he finds that the other is already sitting up. He takes Dongwoo’s hand in his own once he slides off the stage and they both turn to say goodbye to Sungjong. The younger boy offers a warm smile in return. “You can probably leave too,” Woohyun says. “I doubt they’ll notice.” Which is sadly true. At the back of the auditorium Sungyeol’s finally cornered Myungsoo in the last row of seats. They both seem to have forgotten about their friends. It’s not likely they’ll realize everyone has left for at least another five minutes.  


Sungjong leaves with Woohyun and Dongwoo, but stays in the school while the other two head toward the entrance. Outside of the school doors, Dongwoo leans over to press a soft kiss to Woohyun’s cheek. Woohyun looks over at him in surprise, raising a hand to the skin that’s still tingling. “What was that for,” he asks.  


Compared to the last kiss they’d shared, Dongwoo isn’t as sheepish. He hums as he thinks of his answer. “Because I can.”  


And because he can, Woohyun rests his hand on Dongwoo’s neck and pulls him close again so he can connect their lips. Dongwoo wraps his arms around Woohyun’s waist immediately, kissing him back with just as much eagerness. There’s still so much they have to talk about, but for the moment Woohyun only wants to enjoy having Dongwoo in his arms again. The way he’d wanted to for the longest time. They’re both smiling when they pull away.  


“Does this mean what I think it does,” Dongwoo echoes Woohyun’s question from the night of their first kiss. Woohyun nods slowly. It’s not how he’d envisioned this moment; how he’d hoped it would happen. In fact, nothing leading up to it had been what Woohyun would have expected. Which makes sense because if he’s the only one with the script, he can’t expect everyone else to know how things are supposed to go. But as different as it is, he’s just happy that it’s no longer wishful thinking. He finally got the guy of his dreams.


End file.
